Trump names retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg to National Security Council

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has chosen retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as chief of staff and executive secretary of the National Security Council.

Former Fox News political analyst Monica Crowley will be senior director of strategic communications for the NSC, an office within the White House.

“The United States is an exceptional country and these are two exceptional individuals who have agreed to fulfill the President-elect’s pledge of putting America first once again,” retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, the National Security Adviser-designate, said in a statement. “I am honored to have General Kellogg and Dr. Crowley on the National Security Council team.”

Kellogg is a 36-year veteran of the U.S. Army and served two tours during the Vietnam War as well as in Iraq.

After his retirement from the Army in 2003, Kellogg went to work for defense intelligence contractors Cubic Corp. and Abraxas.

Crowley was a foreign policy assistant and communications director for President Richard Nixon.

"I am deeply honored, humbled and grateful to be asked by the President-elect to join the extraordinary national security team he is assembling,” Crowley said in a statement. “With vision, courage and moral clarity, he is committed fully to re-establishing America's singular place in the world. He is also committed to selecting the best people for the jobs of keeping the American people safe and the country secure. It will be a great privilege to serve with them."