The President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Monday appointed Lieutenant General Laura Richardson as head of the Southern Command, making her the first woman to lead this unit in charge of the US military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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At an event at the White House on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Biden announced the appointment of two women to hold positions of four-star commanders: Richardson for Southern Command and General Jacqueline Van Ovost to lead the Transportation Command.
If confirmed by the Senate, Richardson and Van Ovost would become just the second and third women to lead an order fighting in U.S. history, after retired General Lori Robinson, who led the Northern Command between 2016 and 2018.
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“It’s hard to become something you can’t see,” Biden said during the event, stressing the importance of more women reaching leadership positions within the Armed Forces.
“We need young girls and boys who grow up dreaming of serving their country to know that this is what generals in the United States Armed Forces look like. This is what U.S. vice presidents look like.” he added, flanked by the vice president Kamala Harris.
We need young girls and boys who grow up dreaming of serving their country
According to the newspaper The New York Times, The Pentagon approved Richardson and Van Ovost’s nominations months ago, but decided to wait until after the election because they feared the then president, Donald Trump, vetoed her appointments to be women.
Richardson, 57, is currently the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army Northern Formation, based at St. Anthony, Texas Joint Base, and is the first woman to hold that position.
If the Senate confirms it, the current three-star lieutenant general would get a fourth, And would go on to lead the more than 1,200 military and civilians that make up the South Command (Southcom, in English), based in Doral (Florida).
Led since 2018 by Admiral Craig Faller, the Southern Command is in charge of US operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, and in recent years has increased its military presence on the coasts of the United States. Latin America to fight drug trafficking.
Richardson has been in the United States Army for more than three decades, which he joined in 1986. His dream was to be a helicopter pilot, and he began to prepare to be so when he was 15 and women they were not yet allowed to operate fighter jets.
U.S. President Joe Biden has called for gender parity in different instances.
Already in the Army, the now lieutenant general flew Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and completed two combat missions, in Iraq and Afghanistan, In addition to serving as a military adviser to former Vice President A el Gore (1993-2001) and carrying the nuclear briefcase.
In 2017, Richardson became the first female sub-commander of the Army’s top command, known as Forscom, to come to lead on an interim basis in late 2018.
The Southcom nominee has been married for more than 30 years to another three-star lieutenant general, James Richardson, whom she met at aviation school and with whom she has a daughter and a granddaughter.
EFE
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