Adm. Timothy J. Keating assumed the lead of U.S. Pacific Command in a ceremony Monday at PACOM’s Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, headquarters, according to a Navy news release.

Keating takes over from Lt. Gen. Daniel P. Leaf, PACOM deputy commander, who served as acting commander after the departure of Adm. William J. Fallon on March 12 to U.S. Central Command.

Keating’s last assignment was commander of U.S. Northern Command. A 1971 U.S. Naval Academy graduate and a native of Dayton, Ohio, Keating has served numerous tours in the Pacific, according to Navy officials.

As the largest geographical command in the Department of Defense, PACOM encompasses 43 countries bordered by two oceans and over more than 100 million square miles, from the west coast of the United States to the east coast of Africa.

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