WASHINGTON — General John R. Allen, who served until earlier this month as the top United States commander in Afghanistan, will retire from the military to focus on “health issues within his family,” President Obama said Tuesday.
In January, General Allen was officially cleared of misconduct by the Pentagon after an investigation into his exchange of e-mails with a socialite in Tampa, Fla., and Mr. Obama had nominated him to be the supreme commander of NATO.
“I told General Allen that he has my deep, personal appreciation for his extraordinary service over the last 19 months in Afghanistan, as well as his decades of service in the United States Marine Corps,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “John Allen is one of America’s finest military leaders, a true patriot, and a man I have come to respect greatly.”
General Allen, a highly decorated officer, was caught up in the scandal that led to the resignation of David H. Petraeus as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. General Allen had gotten to know the socialite, Jill Kelley, when he was head of the Central Command in Tampa.
General Joseph F. Dunford Jr. succeeded General Allen as commander of both the American and intermational military forces in Afghanistan in a ceremony in Kabul on Feb. 10.
U.S. General Picked for Top NATO Military Post Will Retire
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U.S. General Picked for Top NATO Military Post Will Retire
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U.S. General Picked for Top NATO Military Post Will Retire
