In a ceremony before family, friends and dignitaries, Gen. Laura Richardson on Oct. 29 became the first woman to lead the U.S. Southern Command.

The trailblazing officer also is the first Army woman to lead a geographic combatant command and the second Army woman to reach the four-star rank. She succeeds Navy. Adm. Craig Faller, who is retiring after leading the command since November 2018 and nearly 40 years of service.

Richardson, who most recently commanded U.S. Army North, said she is “honored and excited” to serve alongside the Southern Command team. “I lead this team in an era of great change,” Richardson said during the change-of-command ceremony.

From rapid advancements in technology to “cross-cutting threats that know no borders,” including pandemics, transnational criminal organizations and climate change, the U.S. is in an era of “long-term strategic competition,” she said. She added that the security of the region is “inextricably linked” to U.S. national security.

Southern Command, which has its headquarters in Doral, Florida, is responsible for a geographical area that encompasses 31 countries and 16 dependencies in Central and South America and the Caribbean, providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation.

Richardson takes charge at a time of considerable volatility in the region, including recent unrest in Cuba, the assassination of Haiti’s president, worsening conditions in Venezuela and the expanding disruptive influence of China and Russia in the region. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who spoke at the ceremony, praised Richardson. “There isn’t a crisis that she can’t handle,” he said.

“The stakes are high” in the region, Austin said, but he expressed “complete confidence” in Richardson and the Southern Command team.

On Twitter, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth called Richardson “a leader of character and conviction. … I know as Laura takes command of [Southern Command] her diverse perspective and leadership will make an immediate impact on the region.”