Two senior army commanders with unrivalled experience in Iraq and Afghanistan have been identified as the top candidates to become the next head of the Armed Forces.

The choice of General Sir David Richards, who commanded Nato troops in Afghanistan, and Lieutenant-General Sir Nick Houghton, who was deputy commander of the US-led Multinational Force in Iraq, means that the next generation of top army officers are deemed by ministers to be more suitable to take on the role of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) than any of the present Service chiefs.

The decision amounts to a revolution within the Ministry of Defence, with a deliberate move to bypass the ones who would, traditionally, be the most eligible candidates — the heads of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF — and to wait for the new breed of commanders to take the top spot.

To ensure that the present Service chiefs - Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, First Sea Lord, General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of the Air Staff - do not feel too miffed by being overlooked for the CDS role, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, has asked Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the encumbent CDS, to stay on until 2011.

This will make Sir Jock the longest-standing CDS in history, remaining in the top post for five years. He was due to have retired next year.

The MoD insists that Sir Jock was asked to stay on as CDS to maintain continuity while the Armed Forces are engaged in such high-tempo operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the real reason is that ministers had decided that the next CDS should be someone who has had command experience in either or both of these campaigns, and that meant waiting for another two years, because the best candidates are still working their way up the promotion ladder.

There are also good candidates for the top job coming up through the Royal Navy and RAF, but the two army commanders are viewed as the chief rivals to succeed Sir Jock in 2011. The Royal Navy candidate would be Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, Commander-in-Chief Fleet, and the RAF man would be Air Chief Marshal Sir Clive Loader, Commander-in-Chief Air Command. But General Richards, 56, Commander-in-Chief Land Command, and General Houghton, 53, the Chief of Joint Operations in charge of all overseas missions, are considered to be the best candidates, with the former edging ahead because of his experience as commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force in 2006-07.

Every member of the Armed Forces who has completed six years' service will be entitled to free tuition at university or further education college under a new proposal to be announced on Thursday.

The fees will be paid even if personnel do not stay in the Services. The new deal will be included in a command paper on Services' welfare and social benefits, after a nine-month MoD review.

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