Update: Marine Corps Times incorrectly reported that the nomination of Maj. Gen. Michael Regner to lieutenant general had also been approved. His nomination remains in the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a bloc of more than 3,500 pending military nominations Tuesday, including two Marine Corps generals who are now closer to receiving their third star.
The nominations, some of which had been waiting in committee since the end of March, included Maj. Gens. James Laster, nominated to serve as adviser to Commandant Gen. Joe Dunford as director of Marine Corps Staff and Vincent Stewart, commander of Marine Forces Cyber Command.
Stewart has been rumored as the favorite choice for next director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, to succeed Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, now retired. Flynn who left the agency in August. Acting director David Shedd has held the seat since Flynn's depar ture. If nominated and approved, Stewart would be the first African-American to hold the position.
Laster, now chief of staff for U.S. Special Operations Command, will come to the senior advising position with a broad spectrum of command experience. He has previously commanded 3rd Marine Division in Japan; Training and Education Command at Quantico, Virginia, and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. An infantry officer, he was commissioned in 1978 and is a past recipient of the prestigious Leftwich Trophy.
Another general's nomination to a third star, that of current director of Marine Corps Staff Maj. Gen. Michael Regner, has yet to be reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Regner's nomination comes following a Defense Department Inspector General's report that found he had violated Defense Department directives by5500.7R by misusing subordinates. According to the report, which was obtained by Marine Corps Times in January, Regner assigned uniformed Marines to unpack his household items and clean and set up for a house party after arriving to take command of Marine Forces Korea in 2011.
The two-star general was also accused in 2013 by Sgt. Maj. Jayme Winders, senior enlisted adviser at the command, of retaliating Winders and forcing him to leave the command early after the sergeant major filed an IG complaint based on the alleged misuse of Marines.
Regner has served in the senior adviser position since July 2013, replacing retiring Lt. Gen. Willie Williams. His next nomination has not been publicly announced.
The nominations are now before the full Senate for approval.
