AF General Takes Charge of SouthCom

MIAMI, Fla. -- As U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser begins the next chapter of his military career, he is tasked with tackling some of the biggest challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, ranging from illicit trafficking to natural disasters and a growing Iranian presence.

On Thursday, Fraser will be sworn in as the new leader of the U.S. Southern Command, the Pentagon's headquarters for military operations in a region that hasn't had a high profile since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks but still poses security concerns.

Fraser replaces U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis, who has led Southcom since 2006 and leaves to serve as commander of U.S. European Command in Germany and Supreme Allied Commander of Europe for NATO.

Fraser was previously deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii.

Post-Castro Cuba

Fraser, 56, will tackle a slew of issues in the region, including planning for a post-Fidel Castro Cuba, shutting down the Guantanamo prison camp and combating the trafficking of people, weapons and drugs across borders.

"It is a well-financed endeavor and enterprise," Fraser said about the drug smugglers. "It is a smart enterprise."

A career Air Force officer since 1975, Fraser has been based not only in Hawaii but in Alaska and Colorado, though he brings no extensive military experience in Latin America.

Fraser is quick to note that he spent three years in a high school outside Bogota.

Seventy percent of his classmates were Colombian, he said.

"My interest in Latin America really started when I went to Colombia as a child," said Fraser, who moved to the Andean country because his father worked for a small oil company.

In a June 2 Senate hearing, Fraser conceded that his military career hadn't afforded him much time in Latin America but promised to spend "time and energy" there in the years ahead.

High on his to-do list: An August trip to Colombia to meet with South American and Panamanian military leaders.

Detention Center

In addition to dealing with Colombian drug traffickers and other armed groups, Fraser will also oversee Southcom's most controversial project -- Guantanamo, the Pentagon's offshore detention center for suspected international terrorists.

In an interview Tuesday, Fraser said little about Guantanamo, which President Barack Obama wants closed by January.

"I don't have . . . the knowledge right now . . . of what the overall intent will be, other than the president has given some executive order with a time frame in mind and we will execute that as directed."

As for Cuba, Fraser has said that U.S. policy should be periodically reviewed.

One of the newer issues to emerge in the region is Iran's efforts to build alliances in Venezuela, Bolivia and other countries run by leftist-populists presidents.

"It's a concern and it is an area that we will continue to monitor," he said.

Fraser is the first Air Force four-star general to head Southcom.

He is a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a 1992 graduate of the National War College. He earned a master's degree in political science from Auburn University.