Trump picks national security adviser; Dayton native to stay on as chief of staff

President Donald Trump has tapped Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser.

Trump announced the pick Monday at his Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago. He says McMaster is "a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience."

Trump said Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, a Dayton native, will continue service as chief of staff of the National Security Council.

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Kellogg, 72, was in the running for the national security adviser job. Trump tweeted last week that Kellogg “is very much in play for NSA.”

Media reports say Kellogg was born on May 12, 1944, at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base, however the base will not confirm it since the date is before the founding of the Air Force in 1947.

His father Joseph Keith Kellogg was in the Army Air Forces during World War II.

Kellogg considered Long Beach, Calif. his home.

The retired three-star general, a former Army Ranger, was a reconnaissance platoon leader with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam, where he served two tours, and later commanding general of the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, N.C., according to his Army biography.

Last week Vice Admiral Robert Harward turned down an offer to be national security adviser Thursday.

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Harward told The Associated Press that the Trump administration was “very accommodating to my needs, both professionally and personally.”

“It’s purely a personal issue,” Harward said Thursday evening. “I’m in a unique position finally after being in the military for 40 years to enjoy some personal time.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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