New commander takes charge of Special Operations Command South

  • Published
  • By Sgt. 1st Class Alex Licea
  • Special Operations Command South Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and civilians assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command South welcomed Army Brig. Gen. Sean P. Mulholland, who assumed command of SOCSOUTH at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., during a change of command ceremony, October 2.

Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, the combatant commander of U.S. Southern Command, presided over the ceremony.

In his remarks, Fraser praised outgoing commander Navy Rear Adm. Thomas L. Brown II and talked about the accomplishments achieved under his command. Fraser acknowledged the following accomplishments: building partner nation capacity in order to improve security from transnational organized crime throughout the Western Hemisphere; the international success of Exercise Fuerzas Comando, an annual Special Operations skills competition with more than 20 participating nations across the region; and hundreds of deployments that focused on establishing partnerships with nations from the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

During his remarks, Brown talked about his experience during his two-year tenure as the commander of SOCSOUTH.

"Where we saw opportunities for improved relationships, we created ownership of such in our regional engagement branch and country officers," said Brown. "Where before we emphasized the scheduling of events, we developed, published, and lived a new strategic plan and became an outcome-driven enterprise."

During his speech, Brown also thanked the men and women of SOCSOUTH, along with local community leaders for all their support throughout his two-year command. Brown took command of SOCSOUTH in September of 2010.

"Homestead has been a great place to live and work," added Brown. "I see concerned, engaged, generous citizens who understand the sacrifices that the military and families make which is a cause for great civic pride."

Before completing his closing remarks, Brown welcomed Mulholland and his family to the SOCSOUTH organization and expressed to him that the members of SOCSOUTH stand ready to support him.

Mulholland arrives at SOCSOUTH after serving as the deputy operations director at U.S. Special Operations Command.

"I want to continue to building relationships with our partners across the region and continue to grow the great lineage of SOCSOUTH," said Mulholland.

(United States Special Operations Command South is a subordinate component for special operations under the U.S. Southern Command, which is headquartered in the city of Miami, Fla. SOCSOUTH's mission is to plan, prepare and, when directed, conduct special operations in support of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) strategies, plans, and operations.)