In a ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command was activated, establishing the Army’s first four-star operational theater command based in the continental United States.
Led by Gen. Joseph Ryan, who most recently was deputy Army chief of staff for operations, plans and training, G-3/5/7, the new command is headquartered at Fort Bragg with a forward command post at Joint Base San Antonio. Ryan received his fourth star in the hours before the Dec. 5 ceremony, which also marked the inactivation of U.S. Army Forces Command, whose roles and responsibilities now fall under the new theater command.
“The Army is making an enormous investment in this transformation, combining three important, effective and historically capable commands and headquarters into one. It is our responsibility to deliver returns on that investment,” Ryan said at the ceremony. “We must have a sense of urgency. Today starts the clock.”
Gen. Andrew Poppas, the last commanding general of Forces Command, which was stood up in 1973 at the start of the all-volunteer Army, retired the same day, following more than 37 years of service.
“Today is much more than a change of command ceremony, it’s a change in mission,” Poppas said, adding that it is “a major step toward the merger of three powerhouse Army headquarters into one operational, transregional team that will face the nation’s top strategic priorities.”
Forces Command’s former role as a Title X force provider and readiness overseer now evolves into a single theater Army responsible for executing the Army service component command mission for U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Southern Command, said Col. Mike Burns, spokesman for Western Hemisphere Command.
The new four-star theater Army command is in addition to U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, and U.S. Army Europe and Africa at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Western Hemisphere Command is expected to reach initial operating capability in February, which will prompt the inactivation of Army North and Army South, unifying the domestic response capabilities and regional expertise of those commands and the large-scale readiness oversight of Forces Command. The command is expected to achieve full operating capability in June 2026.
“Western Hemisphere Command is designed for speed, flexibility and relevance to effectively respond to challenges in our complex times,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said. “By consolidating these headquarters and aligning the theater, we will streamline processes, eliminate redundant efforts and free up talent and resources. This will allow us to better support our fighting formations.”
The new command’s mission includes homeland defense, defense support to civil authorities, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, theater security cooperation and continued support to the Immediate Response Force, Burns said.
“We anticipate we will get the proper authorities and assigned forces that will allow us to serve as the Army component for NORTHCOM and SOUTHCOM,” Burns said. “From there, we transition toward assuming full theater Army responsibilities and prepare for several validation exercises in late spring and summer.”
The creation of Western Hemisphere Command is the latest reorganization undertaken by the Army in its bid for continuous transformation. The activation of Western Hemisphere Command on Dec. 5 follows the Oct. 2 activation of U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command in Austin, Texas, which merged the roles and responsibilities of U.S. Army Futures Command and U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
