The Defense Department has named Navy Vice Adm. Craig Faller as the new commander of U.S. Southern Command, replacing Navy Adm. Kurt Tidd, DVIDS reported Monday.The Fryburg, Penn.-native served as commanding officer of the USS Stethem and USS Shilo. He led deployments in the Arabian Gulf and Indonesia to support maritime interception operations against Iraq and disaster relief efforts. He led the DoD’s Surface Nuclear Officer Programs and Placement, the Navy Legislative Affairs and assisted the defense secretary as a senior military assistant. Faller also worked as an executive assistant to the commander of the Pacific Command, Central Command and the Chief of Naval Operations.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomed the new SOUTHCOM lead during a recent ceremony at the command’s headquarters in Doral, Fla.Â
