BRUSSELS, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- NATO announced Monday that its next military chief would be Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach, chief of defense staff of the United Kingdom's armed forces.
Peach was elected as the next chairman of the NATO Military Committee, the senior military adviser to the NATO Secretary General and the North Atlantic Council, to replace Petr Pavel.
Pavel said Peach's vast experience would "allow him to chair the committee with great aptitude" when he assumes the post in the summer of 2018.
Peach said about his election to the position: "I am excited to take on this next challenge at such an important time for the NATO alliance, at a time when the alliance must modernize to face new and ever-adapting threats," he added.
The role as chairman of the committee is one of the most important positions in NATO and central to European security, Peach said in the NATO press release.
The position of chairman is normally held for a period of three years.
