Army stands up Western Hemisphere Command as new strategies highlight domestic operations

The Army’s push to reduce headquarters and general officer positions made more progress Friday with the activation of U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command , which will replace Army Forces Command and eventually absorb U.S. Army North and U.S. Army South.

The new command will take on FORSCOM’s mission of preparing troops for deployment and combine it with Army North’s experience in supporting civil authorities and Army South’s expertise in working with allies across the Caribbean, Central America and South America, an Army official told reporters Tuesday.

“This is now the priority theater, and the Army is saying, ‘Look at what we're going to do: put a four-star here, and we're going to unify the entire hemisphere,’ “ the official said.

In doing so, Gen. Andrew Poppas, who currentl