Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating is excited about returning to Hawai'i when he takes over as head of the U.S. Pacific Command. He won Senate confirmation today. AP file photo

Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. also was confirmed to head the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Command, posts vacated by Keating for his new command.

The Senate confirmed both without a recorded vote.

Keating, 58, will replace Adm. William J. Fallon, who now commands the U.S. Central Command and oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, Keating said he and his wife, Wandalee, were excited about coming back to Hawai'i, where they lived for about two years in the 1980s.

Keating said his past Pacific assignments, including a previous stint at Pacific Command and two years in Japan commanding a carrier group, have led to a "keen appreciation for the vibrancy and complexity of this vast region."

Keating is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971.