MIAMI, Florida –
Inside the office of U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey hung a framed letter. It was easy to overlook, but it was on display nonetheless. The paper inside is slightly faded and signed decades ago by a man who once told a young college student that he could become a Naval officer and a pilot. The letter offered an opportunity, and Adm. Holsey believed it.
That belief grew into a Navy career defined by results and the quiet confidence of a leader who cared more about the mission and the people than recognition.
Now set to retire after 37 years of service in the Navy, Adm. Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said the framed letter marked the starting point of his distinguished career.
“I had never flown or been in an aircraft before and someone told me I could be a pilot, and I believed,” he said.
Adm. Holsey applied that same steady approach to one of the most dynamic and complex periods the command has faced in decades. Through calm judgment, strategic vision, and his conviction, he strengthened partnerships, expanded operational capability, and transformed how the United States and regional partners confront narcotrafficking, foreign terrorist organizations, transnational criminal organizations and malign influence.
Adm. Holsey’s humility becomes clearest when he talks about his most meaningful moments in uniform. When he highlights his career, he never points to becoming a carrier strike group commander, a ship commanding officer, or his appointment to commander of USSOUTHCOM. Instead, he remembers a particular flight home.
“The best flight for me was in April 2001,” he said. “I got a chance to go back to my hometown, a small town in Georgia, where I was able to land a helicopter on the fifty-yard line of my old high school. My mom and dad were there along with friends and family, and I had the opportunity to talk to young people about aviation.”
He offered a second memory without hesitation.
“My second-best flight after that was about five years ago with me and my son coming back from a flight. He is a naval aviator and watching him get winged and flying with him was a very good day,” he said. “Generally speaking, watching young people who I've mentored and supported over the years – watching them reach their full potential – when you see people that you mentored, touched, developed, challenged, and watched them grow and lead, when they become leaders themselves, it changes the dynamic and tells us about what we do. It's not about us, and it's never been about us. It's about the people.”
U.S. Marine Sgt. Maj. Rafael Rodriguez, USSOUTHCOM’s senior enlisted leader, said Adm. Holsey leads with a calm, steady presence that sets the tone for the entire command.
“He never looks for the spotlight. He listens, he analyzes, and then he makes a decision that brings clarity to everyone around him,” he said.
That steady presence was vital in 2025.
When Adm. Holsey assumed command in November 2024, the region was confronting escalating challenges. Narcotraffickers expanded their illicit operations and continued to degrade security and stability within the region and United States. Chinese malign influence increased near critical strategic areas, including the Panama Canal and Haiti’s security continued to deteriorate.
Holsey had already spent nearly two years as the military deputy commander for USSOUTHCOM. Sgt. Maj. Rodriguez, who worked closely with Adm. Holsey when he was the deputy commander, said the admiral’s grasp of the region was unmatched, and he knew the region, understood the partners, and recognized the operational gaps and the urgency of the moment.
“He understood the region. But, more importantly, he understood the gaps we needed to close,” he said. “Even then as the deputy, he was shaping the command’s mindset.”
For decades, USSOUTHCOM had been anchored in a strong security cooperation mission, but that focus had overshadowed its role as a warfighting headquarters. Adm. Holsey said he believed the command needed to understand its full potential.
“We were and are a warfighting organization who also does security cooperation,” he said.
He added that the staff had “kind of gotten locked into the security cooperation mission” and needed to understand that “we could do more.”
Sgt. Maj. Rodriguez saw the change firsthand.
“When he emphasized that SOUTHCOM is a warfighting command, people felt a genuine sense of purpose,” he said. “He pushed us to believe in our operational relevance, and that mindset strengthened this entire organization.”
One of Adm. Holsey’s most significant achievements was the transformation of USSOUTHCOM into a more agile, capable, and operationally present force. Under his leadership, the command expanded from roughly 3,500 personnel to nearly 15,000 personnel in direct support of operations in the region.
The operational impact was immediately felt, with the expanded U.S. presence across the region, improving responsiveness and strengthening deterrence.
Joint Interagency Task Force South disrupted or seized more than a million pounds of cocaine in Fiscal Year 2025. These operations denied criminal and terrorist networks more than $11.34 billion in illicit revenue and prevented millions of lethal doses from reaching American communities.
Adm. Holsey’s tenure was marked by a commitment to building and sustaining partnerships. He traveled across 15 nations and co-hosted regional security conferences that strengthened military cooperation, information sharing and joint readiness.
As the U.S. began working to counter Chinese influence near the Panama Canal, he partnered closely with Panamanian security forces to establish the Joint Security Cooperation Group Panama to improve warfighting readiness. The mission increased interoperability, which led to the establishment of a new Jungle Operations Training Course.
Sgt. Maj. Rodriguez said those partnerships deepened because Adm. Holsey treated every partner with respect and sincere friendship.
“He listened first, and partners saw that he valued what they brought to the table,” he said. “That credibility opened doors and strengthened cooperation in real, lasting ways.”
Adm. Holsey’s approach emphasized working by, with, and through partners, always strengthening their capacity and resilience while also demonstrating the United States’ unwavering commitment to fostering enduring partnerships in this strategically significant region.
Adm. Holsey oversaw other missions that required decisive leadership and coordinated action.
As the security situation in Haiti continued to deteriorate, Adm. Holsey led USSOUTHCOM’s support to the United Nations’ Multinational Security Support mission. The command delivered more than 8.9 million pounds of supplies that enabled a Kenyan-led security force to support the Haitian National Police.
“His decisions were always grounded in calm analysis,” Sgt. Maj. Rodriguez said. “In every crisis, he brought stability to the room.”
Adm. Holsey said key moments early in his career shaped his leadership style. He recalled a commanding officer who wrote “future commanding officer” on his fitness report.
“For whatever reason, I did not see it in myself,” he said. “But his words kind of sparked me. No one had ever said that about me before, and that kind of moved me toward staying in.”
Those words helped form a leader who believed deeply in opportunity, mentorship, and the potential of others.
As Adm. Holsey prepares to retire, his final chapter in uniform reflects the same humility that defined his beginning. He did not join the Navy to become a four-star admiral.
“I just came in to do my job and to serve,” he said. “I never had any grand thoughts about making flag.”
The legacy Adm. Holsey leaves behind is not written in rank or recognition, it’s in the sailors, Marines, soldiers, airmen, guardians, and civilians he shaped by giving them opportunities, challenging them to grow, and believing in their potential through steady, thoughtful leadership. Adm. Holsey may keep the letter on his wall to remember where he started, but the service members he inspired will carry forward the lessons he lived every day: serve with purpose, lead with humility, and invest in others.