The Department of Defense has nominated Maj. Gen. David G. Shoemaker for promotion to lieutenant general and to serve as deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea, the Pentagon announced May 5.
Under the nomination, Shoemaker would be promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea; commander of the air component for the U.N. Command and the ROK-U.S. Combined Air Component; and commander of Seventh Air Force.
Shoemaker currently serves as deputy commander of Ninth Air Force (U.S. Air Forces Central). His official Air Force biography notes he oversees air operations command-and-control and leads the development and execution of contingency plans across U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility.
He also has prior Korea experience. From 2005 to 2006, Shoemaker was responsible for standardization and evaluation with the 8th Operations Group at Kunsan Air Base, and he commanded the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan from 2017 to 2018. The nomination would return an officer with direct experience in the Korean operating environment to the U.S. air command in Korea.
The post is currently held by Lt. Gen. David R. Iverson, who concurrently serves as deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea, commander of the U.N. Command air component, commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Air Component, and commander of Seventh Air Force.
The nomination remains subject to Senate confirmation.
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