TACOMA, Wash. - The Pentagon has nominated the former commander of a Stryker brigade as the overall commander of Joint Base Lewis-McChord and its 50,000 military and civilian personnel.

Army Maj. Gen. Robert Brown takes over the base near Tacoma as it's under scrutiny for treatment of soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and as being the base for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians.

It's not uncommon for top military commanders to switch assignments frequently. Brown succeeds Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who took command of Lewis-McChord in October 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan last July as the second-in command.

The News Tribune reports (http://is.gd/84CJla) the 52-year-old Brown led a Stryker brigade in combat in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. He is currently commanding Fort Benning, Ga.