Army Gen. Peter Jan Schoomaker retires as SOCOM commander, replaced by Air Force Gen. Charles Holland.
At Special Operations Command (SOCOM), Schoomaker had replaced Gen. Henry (“Hugh”) Shelton, who became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He had previously served as the commanding general of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from July 1994 to August 1996, followed by command of the United States Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
A known conservative and aggressive special operations man, Schoomaker wanted to take action against al Qaeda in Afghanistan but was never able to gain approval.
After 9/11, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld found Gen. Holland way too passive and doctrinaire in employing America’s secret forces in Afghanistan. Though he also had a prodigious special operations background (and had served as deputy commanding general of JSOC), Rumsfeld iced him out, maybe as well because he hadn’t appointed him.
From the sidelines, Schoomaker—now a defense contractor—kibbitzed on tactics and strategy for the burgeoning global war on terror and the increased use of special operations. On August 1, 2003, Rumsfeld brought Schoomaker out of retirement to be the 35th chief of staff of the Army and a close advisor.