SOUTHCOM to host change of command ceremony Nov. 07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MIAMI - U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Alvin Holsey is scheduled to assume duties as commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) from U.S. Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson during a change-of command ceremony 1 p.m. Nov. 7, 2024, at the command's headquarters.

Holsey, who previously served as the Military Deputy commander at SOUTHCOM, will be promoted to the rank of admiral before the ceremony.

Richardson will retire after more than four decades of military service as a decorated Army officer and distinguished aviator that included leadership roles in various assignments from the Company to the Theater level, as well as deployments to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Richardson's career also included assignments as Military Aide to the Vice President at the White House, Chief of Army Legislative Liaison to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., and as a U.S. Army campaign planner at the Pentagon.

Richardson assumed command of SOUTHCOM Oct. 29, 2021, during a history-making ceremony in which she became the first woman general to lead the U.S. combatant command. Under her leadership, SOUTHCOM conducted numerous operations directly supporting regional security, increased security cooperation with regional defense and security partners, and optimized its multinational exercise program to strengthen the region's collective security capacity and bolster interoperability.

Richardson also led the command's critical support to partner nation efforts aimed at disrupting the activities of transnational criminal organizations and malign state actors; including illicit trafficking; human smuggling; illegal, unregulated, and underreported fishing; and cyberattacks. SOUTHCOM is currently supporting the Multinational Security Support mission assisting Haitian-led efforts in and near Port-au-Prince to restore security in communities impacted by widespread gang violence.

Holsey will also make history when he assumes command duties November 7, becoming the first African American to lead SOUTHCOM since the organization assumed its mission more than six decades ago. The U.S. Senate confirmed Holsey's presidential nomination September 24.

A Georgia native, Holsey was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program at Morehouse College in 1988, where he received a degree in Computer Science. In 1995, he earned a Master of Science in management from Troy State University, and in 2010, he attended the Joint Forces Staff college.

Holsey's career includes numerous deployments aboard U.S. Navy frigates and cruisers, as well as missions flying the SH-2F Seasprite and SH-60B Seahawk helicopters. He commanded a helicopter anti-submarine squadron; the U.S. Navy's first hybrid electric propulsion warship, USS Makin Island (LHD 8); and Carrier Strike Group One aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, (CVN 70).

Holsey previously made history as the inaugural commander of the International Maritime Security Construct / Coalition Task Force Sentinel, tasked with ensuring freedom of navigation, adherence to international law, free flow of commerce, and the stability of maritime commons in the Middle East. His career assignments include tours as deputy director for operations at the National Military Command Center for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and deputy chief of naval personnel at Navy Personnel Command.

SOUTHCOM is one of the nation's six geographically focused unified commands. The command is responsible for U.S. defense and security cooperation with partner nations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, as well as U.S. military operations sin the region.

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POC:
Steven McLoud
Media Relations Officer
U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs Office
305-437-1213 | 305-586-3657
[email protected]

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