This is an accepted version of this page John William "Mick" Nicholson Jr. (born 8 May 1957) is a retired United States Army four-star general who last commanded U.S.

Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and the 41-nation NATO-led Resolute Support Mission from 2 March 2016 to 2 September 2018, succeeding General John F.

[11] Nicholson was the longest-serving commander of the War in Afghanistan, having led the 41-nation NATO-led Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces-Afghanistan for two and a half years from March 2016 to September 2018.

[27] In April 2017, he authorized the dropping of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), the largest non-nuclear munition in the US inventory, on an ISIS strongpoint in the Pekha Valley of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

[30][31][32] On 2 September 2018, Nicholson relinquished command of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission to General Austin Scott Miller at a ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan.

[34] His leadership and close relations with Afghan leaders were key to brokering the first universal ceasefire of the war in June 2018 and helped enable the launch of the subsequent peace initiative.

[38] On 18 May 2019, Nicholson gave the commencement address to the 2019 graduating class of Institute of World Politics and received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law.

[39] On 17 June 2019, Nicholson was given an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the American University of Afghanistan alongside David M. Rubenstein and General (Ret.)

[44] Since December 2021, Nicholson has served as Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin in the Middle East, with responsibility for strategy, operations, and growth in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Pakistan.

[45] In October 2022, Nicholson was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University, a public co-educational institution based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.