FORT DRUM — A release from the Department of the Army’s General Officer Management Office could indicate the Army’s pick for the post’s next commanding general.

The release identified Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, currently director of the Pakistan and Afghanistan Coordination Cell Joint Staff, Washington, D.C., for a transfer to the post.

The person now on post with that rank is Maj. Gen. Mark A. Milley, Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division commander.

Post public affairs officials were not able to comment on the listing Monday, because of the incomplete nature of the selection.

The movement to such a command position would require confirmation by both the Department of Defense and Congress.

If the placement were to happen, the assignment would be a homecoming of sorts for Gen. Townsend. From 2000 to 2002, he served on post as commander of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and was the 10th Mountain Division’s assistant chief of staff from June 2003 to July 2004.

He also has served as deputy commanding general of operations for the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Gen. Milley arrived on post in November 2011, taking control of the division from then-Maj. Gen. James L. Terry.

Before becoming the post’s commander, Gen. Milley had led the division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan in 2003 and Iraq in 2004. He also served with the division during its mission in Haiti in the 1990s.

The potential move for Gen. Milley would continue a rapid series of changes at several top-level positions within the post’s command in the past six months.

Earlier in October, Brig. Gen. Richard D. Clarke was announced as commandant of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, and likely will take the position in early 2013. In July, Col. Gary A. Rosenberg was introduced as the post’s new garrison commander, replacing Col. Noel T. Nicolle.

Messages left Monday with Department of Defense and Department of the Army public affairs personnel were not returned.

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