SOUTHCOM to host relinquishment-of-command Dec. 12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MIAMI – Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey will relinquish duties as commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to Air Force Lt. Gen. Evan L. Pettus at the command’s headquarters on Friday, 10:30 a.m., Dec. 12, 2025.

Holsey will retire after more than 37 years of service in the U.S. Navy.

Pettus, who is the current SOUTHCOM Military Deputy Commander, is a career Air Force officer with multiple combat deployments and stints in leadership roles, including the Commandant of the Air Command and Staff College, the Commander of the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing, and the Commander, Air Forces Southern.

A native of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Pettus is a 1994 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he received a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He earned a Master's of Business Administration from Bellevue University, Nebraska in 2004, a Master's of Logistics Sciences from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 2008, and a Master's of Strategic Studies from the Air War College in 2013. 

Holsey’s career includes numerous deployments aboard U.S. Navy frigates and cruisers, as well as missions flying the SH-2F Seasprite and SH-60B Seahawk helicopters. He commanded a helicopter anti-submarine squadron; the U.S. Navy’s first hybrid electric propulsion warship, USS Makin Island (LHD 8); and Carrier Strike Group One aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, (CVN 70). Holsey previously served as Military Deputy Commander at SOUTHCOM prior to assuming command.

Hosley assumed command of SOUTHCOM Nov. 7, 2024. Under his leadership, SOUTHCOM strengthened security in the Caribbean, reached an historic drug interdiction milestone by seizing and disrupting more than a million pounds of cocaine; expanded the U.S. security partnership with Panama to a level not seen in decades; provided robust logistical support to the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti; and stood up Joint Task Force Southern Guard to support the Department of Homeland Security.

SOUTHCOM is one of the nation’s six geographically focused unified commands.  The command is responsible for U.S. defense and security cooperation with partner nations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, as well as U.S. military operations sin the region.  For more information about the command visit www.southcom.mil.

Note to interested journalists and news desks: Press will be permitted to cover this ceremony which serves as the forum for service members and civilian employees to witness, and participate, in the organization’s transition of leadership. Due to limited space, we will be unable to accommodate large news vans or trucks. The RSVP deadline for attending this ceremony will be no later than Wednesday, Dec. 10 by 5 p.m. ET.

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POINT OF CONTACT:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Adm. Holsey bio: http://southcom.mil/About/Leadership/Bio-Article-View/Article/3959139/adm-alvin-holsey/

Lt. Gen. Pettus bio: https://www.southcom.mil/About/Leadership/Bio-Article-View/Article/1555395/lt-gen-evan-l-pettus/