President-elect Barack Obama plans to name retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair, a former Pacific forces commander, to be director of national intelligence, according to several news reports yesterday.

The announcement of Blair's nomination to become the nation's top spy official could come as early as today, Bloomberg news and other media reported, citing anonymous sources.

If confirmed by the Senate, Blair, 61, would oversee the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, which have a combined budget of at least $47.5 billion.

Congress created the position in 2004 after the U.S. intelligence network failed to thwart the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and incorrectly determined that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. That finding helped lead to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

A sixth-generation naval officer, Blair graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968 and was a Rhodes Scholar, majoring in Russian studies at Oxford University. He served as a White House Fellow from 1975 to 1976.

His last job in the military was as the Hawaii-based Pacific commander-in-chief, the highest ranking officer over all U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region. He held the position from February 1999 to May 2002, when he retired.

The selection was immediately hailed by two members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

“;I am pleased President-elect Obama selected someone with such extensive hands-on knowledge of national security issues in the Asia-Pacific region,”; said Sen. Daniel Akaka. “;He served our country well as commander-in-chief of the Pacific and I trust he will serve with the same level of duty and honor if confirmed as director of national intelligence.”;

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono said Blair, during his 34-year naval career, “;was known as an experienced military leader.”;

“;His distinctive perspective will add to the strength of the new administration,”; she said.

She said his tenure as head of the Pacific Command and living in Hawaii, “;experiencing our cultural diversity and uniqueness, will serve him well in his new position.”;

As head of U.S. Pacific Command after the Sept. 11 attacks, Blair oversaw military operations across more than 100 million square miles.

He was the first person to serve as associate director of the Central Intelligence Agency for military support. He won the Defense Distinguished Service Medal four times and the National Intelligence Service medal twice.

In 2006, Blair resigned as president of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a nonprofit group that researches defense issues for the federal government, over conflict-of-interest concerns.