During her Senate confirmation hearing to be the next commander of U.S. Southern Command, Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson said she would ensure the U.S. remains the “partner of choice in the Western Hemisphere” through persistent engagement with allies and partners.

“The Southern Command region is of strategic importance to U.S. vital interests, and if confirmed, I will synchronize our approach to security cooperation, working across all combatant commands to narrow the gaps and seams our competitors are exploiting,” Richardson said Aug. 3 in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

If confirmed, Richardson would be the first Army woman to lead a geographic combatant command and the second Army woman to reach the four-star rank. The first was Gen. Ann Dunwoody, who attained the rank in 2008. She retired in 2012 after a 38-year career.

The commander of the Florida-based Southern Command oversees 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.

If confirmed, Richardson would take charge of Southern Command 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. 

Richardson, who has commanded Army North at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston since July 2019, told the committee that “in this era of long-term strategic competition, the United States must remain the partner of choice throughout the Western Hemisphere.”

She was accompanied at the hearing by her husband, Lt. Gen. Jim Richardson, deputy commander of Army Futures Command, and their daughter, Lauren.