Rather Large Boots to Fill : But Clinton appears to have chosen well

President Clinton has chosen well from among a large field of qualified candidates in selecting his nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, currently the commander of NATO, is an experienced battlefield soldier as well as a close student of international affairs who has thought deeply about the role of the U.S. military in the world.

As the senior uniformed adviser to a President who himself has no military experience, the man who is known to his friends--for understandable reasons--as “Shali” can be expected to play an influential role in shaping national security policy in coming years.

Two especially demanding and closely linked tasks face this country’s armed forces. The first is to maintain their technical edge and fighting ability even as they are downsized in line with post-Cold War defense budgets. The second is to readapt themselves to the tactical and political challenges of new missions. Some of those challenges will undoubtedly arise out of the ethnic and nationalistic conflicts that have now replaced East-West antagonisms and the possibility of nuclear war as major threats to international peace and stability.

Shalikashvili is what the military calls a “mustang,” an enlisted man--a draftee, in fact--who won an officer’s commission. More than that, he is that true rarity, an enlisted man who progressed on the basis of widely recognized merit not just to high position but ultimately to supreme command.

Born in Poland of mixed Polish and Georgian parentage, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 16, mastered English, entered the Army in 1958, attended officers’ candidate school and then began a steady rise through the ranks, distinguishing himself in both field and staff positions. In addition to extensive operational experience he has earned a master’s degree in international affairs.

Clinton singled out Shalikashvili’s creativity, vision and candor as he introduced him on Wednesday as his nominated replacement for retiring Gen. Colin L. Powell, in the post since 1989.

All of these virtues are important, none more so than candor. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs is the uniformed leader of the world’s most powerful military forces. He is also, by law, the President’s foremost military adviser.

Powell, once President Ronald Reagan’s national security adviser, has a world view that placed his military advice in an informed political context, and he had the self-confidence to speak his mind freely. Shalikashvili should be able to do the same. He is a fine choice to lead the armed forces in a time of demanding global challenges.