A new top general is taking command at Fort Stewart.

Army Maj. Gen. John M. Murray was scheduled to start his new job Friday as commander of the southeast Georgia base and its more than 21,000 soldiers.

The position puts him in charge of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which has spent much of the past decade fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Murray comes to Fort Stewart from Washington, where he served as the Army's director of force management. His previous assignments include stints at the U.S. Joint Forces Command in Virginia and as deputy commanding general for maneuvers for the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

Murray succeeds Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams, who is being promoted to senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Tags: commander, Fort Stewart, Army, U.S. Army, maj. gen. john murray