The Defense Department has renamed the U.S. Pacific Command to emphasize the combatant command’s missions in the Indian Ocean region, DoD news reported Wednesday.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command aims to strengthen military relations with allies and provide security for diplomats working to negotiate in the region.
“Over many decades, this command has repeatedly adapted to changing circumstance and today carries that legacy forward as America focuses west,” said Defense Secretary James Mattis, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.
Mattis announced USPACOM’s new name during a change-of-command ceremony held Wednesday at Joint Base Pear Harbor-Hickam.
U.S. Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, former head of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, took helm of Indo-Pacific Command.
Davidson was nominated by President Trump in April and succeeded Adm. Harry Harris Jr.
