 He served next as the executive assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 14 months before joining the 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany, as the Assistant Division Commander (Support).He commanded Multinational Brigade East in Kosovo for six months in 2002 before being assigned to United States European Command in January 2003 as the Deputy Director of Operations.In June 2004, Lute began more than two years as Director of Operations (J-3) at United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), during which he oversaw combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa.