The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser for promotion to the rank of general to serve as commander of US Southern Command. Fraser is the first Air Force general to head SOUTHCOM, which oversees the US military’s activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Fraser, currently the deputy commander of US Pacific Command, was nominated for the SOUTHCOM post in April. He replaces Adm. James Stavridis, whom the Senate confirmed on June 10 to take over US European Command. Stavridis will succeed Army Gen. Bantz Craddock, who is retiring.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. still “believes” in his mantra of “Accelerate Change or Lose”—and indicated the doctrinal changes it produced when he was Air Force Chief of Staff played a role in the service’s recent response to Iran’s aerial assault on Israel, he…