KABUL (AP) – Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a four-star American general with a long history in special operations, was to take charge of United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops in Afghanistan on Monday, a change of command the Pentagon hopes will turn the tide in the eight-year war.

McChrystal is scheduled to take command from Gen. David McKiernan during a low-key ceremony at the heavily fortified headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in central Kabul.

McKiernan was fired last month by Defense Secretary Robert Gates halfway through his two-year assignment.

An outgoing general typically hands off command to his replacement during a ceremony, but McKiernan quietly left the country earlier this month.