But Fargo, Fallon and Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were "piped" onto the dais by the shrill sound of a boatswain's pipe, and martial music and a 17-gun salute boomed across the parade field.

Fallon, 60, takes over Pacific Command as the region continues to grow in strategic importance.

North Korea's nuclear ambitions, guerrilla warfare in the Philippines, insurgency in Indonesia and ongoing strife between China and Taiwan are among the challenges Fallon faces.

But those are challenges that also present the possibilities of new democracies, moderate Islamic nations and strong international partners, Fargo said. He said he had seen many changes in that direction during his tenure. Diplomacy, he said, will remain a key part of Pacific Command's job.

Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, left, and Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, salute during yesterday's change of command ceremony. Fargo led Pacific Command for nearly three years. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We've been doing that for a long time," he said, "and will continue to move forward."

One of Fargo's most recent tasks was coordinating the U.S. response to the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Incoming commander Fallon said he knows he will face a number of challenges in Pacific Command, not least among them being the sheer size of the region, which encompasses 16 time zones.

"I welcome the challenge and look forward to serving with these wonderful people," he said.

As commander, Fallon will direct Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force operations from the U.S. West Coast to the East Coast of Africa. His command will encompass 43 countries, and the combined populations of two of them, India and China, will soon exceed half the world's.

For nearly three years, Fargo, 56, has headed the command and its nearly 300,000 troops, seeing them through military and humanitarian operations throughout the 100 million square-mile theater and beyond.

A San Diego native, son of a career military man and a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Fargo was commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet before moving to Pacific Command.

He had planned to step down from his position months earlier, but remained at the helm after President Bush withdrew his first replacement candidate, Air Force Gen. Gregory S. Martin.

The move to place an Air Force officer in a position that has almost always been held by Navy men was not well received among traditionalists.

Army Lt. Gen. Harold T. Fields was the only non-Navy man to have served as the commander of Pacific Command. He held the title for just more than a week in July 1994.

Martin's nomination was shot down in October after Arizona Sen. John McCain grilled him in a confirmation hearing over allegations of financial misconduct by a co-worker. Martin later withdrew his name.

Also in October, as Martin remained under consideration, Navy Vice Adm. Gary Roughead took over the job of deputy commander of Pacific Command. That job has traditionally belonged to a non-Navy officer, balancing the Navy's hold on the top position.

Speculation among military officials is that Roughead will be reassigned soon.

Fargo and his wife, Sarah, will remain in Hawai'i.

Fallon is a naval aviator who was raised in Merchantville, N.J. He is a 1967 graduate of Villanova University, and received his commission through the Navy ROTC program.

He flew the RA-5C Vigilante in Vietnam, transitioned to the A-6 Intruder in 1974, has more than 1,300 carrier landings in tactical jet aircraft and served in Operation Desert Storm.

"Fox and I both once flew aircraft that are now in museums," Myers said yesterday. Myers once flew the T-33 Shooting Star, a 1950s vintage trainer.

Fallon's first flag-officer assignment was with NATO as assistant chief of staff, plans and policy for the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. His most recent assignment was the top spot in the Navy's Fleet Forces Command, formerly the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Command, in Norfolk, Va.

Although most of Fallon's command experience has been in the Atlantic region, he has had a taste of the eggshell diplomacy that sometimes becomes necessary in the Pacific.

In 2001, during Adm. Dennis Blair's tenure as Pacific Command commander, President Bush sent Fallon to Japan to apologize after the USS Greeneville, based at Pearl Harbor, surfaced into the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fishing and training vessel. The accident killed nine people, including four high-school students, and threatened U.S.-Japanese relations.

During the ceremony yesterday, Fallon, as the incoming commander, stayed with Navy tradition and kept his comments brief. He and his wife, Mary, he said, are pleased with the new assignment.

"It's exciting," he said. "We're pumped."