An admiral who helped lead the months-long fight against the Houthis in the Red Sea is up for the top Navy position in Europe and Africa.
Vice Adm. George Wikoff, currently the commander of the 5th Fleet and Naval Forces Central Command, was nominated to serve as the head of U.S. Naval Force Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples. If confirmed, he’ll bring more than a year of experience overseeing the Navy’s longest fight since World War II to the European and African theater and to NATO.
His nomination was part of a series of proposed new appointments released by the Pentagon earlier this month. He faces congressional confirmation before he can take over.
A former fighter pilot who served as part of carrier air wings and as a TOPGUN instructor, Wikoff took over as head of the 5th Fleet in February 2024, as the U.S. Navy was well into bombing targets inside Yemen. Since October 2023, Houthi forces had attacked commercial ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Navy found itself intercepting drones and missiles and, starting in 2024, carrying out large airstrikes inside Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen. Before taking over the 5th Fleet, Wikoff had been acting commander for Naval Air Forces.
Since the fall of 2023, the Navy moved multiple carrier strike groups, independent destroyers and a number of fighter jets into the 5th Fleet area of operations. From January 2024 to January 2025, the Navy’s Operation Poseidon Archer led hundreds of airstrikes inside Yemen. Since a ceasefire in May that ended the two-month-long Operation Rough Rider, the Navy has still been active in combat and force projection roles in the region. During Operation Midnight Hammer — the June attack that damaged but failed to destroy three Iranian nuclear sites — Navy ships fired Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in conjunction with B-2 Spirit bomber missions done by the Air Force.
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Adm. Stuart Munsch currently serves as the head of U.S. Naval Force Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples. If confirmed to replace him, Wikoff would be in charge of both the Navy’s own forces and operations in the region and a major command under NATO. Rear Adm. Curt Renshaw, the current deputy commander of the 5th Fleet, was nominated earlier this summer to take over for Wikoff.
Wikoff’s nomination is the latest high-profile reshuffling of top naval roles. After the ouster of Adm. Lisa Franchetti as chief of naval operations in February, the Navy has moved around several high-ranking officers. Adm. Daryl Caudle, previously head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, was confirmed as the new chief of naval operations in late July. Shortly after, the heads of Naval Special Warfare Command and the Navy Reserve were relieved of command. Adm. Brad Cooper, who had served as head of 5th Fleet from 2021 to early 2024, took over as head of CENTCOM after a year as its deputy.
