The retired Air Force general announced as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump after the abrupt Friday night firing of his predecessor is a respected career F-16 pilot who is described by current and former officials who served with him as a professional with a “strong moral center.

Trump said Friday night that Caine was his pick as the next Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, making the announcement in the same social media post in which he fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr.,

Caine, a three-star general whom Trump has praised since at least 2019, helped lead an operation in Iraq against the Islamic State during Trump’s first term.