Fallon, 60, would replace Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, who has headed the Pacific Command since May 2002 and is expected to retire early this year. A change of command is scheduled for Feb. 26. Fallon's confirmation hearings before the Senate have not been scheduled.

Fallon will face several immediate challenges in the new post, including wrapping up the U.S. military's tsunami relief efforts, coping with expected military budget cutbacks this year, keeping a watchful eye on North Korea and its nuclear ambitions, and maintaining cordial relations with China.

Currently commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., Fallon was described by friends and colleagues as "highly qualified" to lead the nation's largest combatant command and possessing the diplomatic skills important to the Pacific theater of operations.

"He is an absolutely super, smart, down-to-earth, people-oriented kind of guy that will bend over backwards to help you as a friend," said retired Adm. Richard Macke, a former Pacific Command chief.

Macke, who referred to Fallon by his flight call sign, said: "Fox is the kind of guy that leads from the front. He's hands-on where it is required."

Fallon's wife, Mary, also received high marks, playing an active role in a number of volunteer and support groups, including the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society, which doles out millions of dollars in grants.

"She will be a great addition," said retired Rear Adm. Stephen Pietropaoli, executive director of the Navy League in Arlington, Va.

As vice chief of naval operations, Fallon led a diplomatic mission to Japan in the first year of Bush's presidency on behalf of the U.S. government. His assignment from Bush: Apologize after the USS Greeneville, based in Pearl Harbor, slammed into the Japanese vessel Ehime Maru, nine miles off Diamond Head. Nine men and youths on the ship were killed.

The emotional aftermath in Japan required a delicate touch, and Fallon earned praise for the way he handled the job.

"It was a very difficult and delicate time and very well executed," Pietropaoli said. "When (the apology) had to come from the seat of the government, Admiral Fallon was the man to do it."

Fallon also has served in other roles that honed his diplomatic skills, including time with NATO as a top assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander in the Atlantic.

"That post had similar requirements as would be expected in PACOM," Macke said.

But Fallon's friends also stressed that the person to head Pacific Command must be a war fighter.

"It takes a whole plethora of experience to make a good joint commander," Macke said. "You need to know how to work with all the services and understand their strengths and weaknesses so you can blend them together to form the right force. Fox has that background."

Fallon, who was raised in New Jersey, is a graduate of Villanova University and was commissioned through the Navy ROTC program. He completed flight training in 1967.

His first combat deployment was to Vietnam, where he flew the RA-5C. He later moved to flying the A-6 bomber in 1974. Fallon served with attack aircraft squadrons for 24 years, logging more than 1,300 carrier arrested landings and 4,800 flight hours in tactical jet aircraft.

He has commanded a squadron and several air wings. Fallon led Carrier Air Wing Eight on the USS Theodore Roosevelt during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. He also led Battle Force Sixth Fleet during NATO's combat operation in Bosnia in 1995.