Top Green Beret rotates to new command as Afghanistan casualties increase, war remains murky

Army Special Forces changing command in July

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The man who oversaw the start of the largest expansion of the Army’s Special Forces is leaving the North Carolina-based unit as the war in Afghanistan becomes more deadly.

Maj. Gen. Michael Repass will turn over command of about 10,000 Special Forces soldiers at Fort Bragg, also known as Green Berets, to Brig. Gen. Ed Reeder in July. The change is part of a normal rotation of commanders. Repass said last week that Afghanistan is the priority mission because U.S. troops have a limited time to make a difference there.

In the last few months, the Taliban has ramped up attacks against troops and the situation in southern Afghanistan is murky, prompting lawmakers to call the head of the Central Command, Gen. David H. Petraeus, to Capitol Hill this week.