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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Senate confirms Keating as new Pacific Command head

By Dennis Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Senate has confirmed Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating as the new head of the U.S. Pacific Command.

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 Monday 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 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."

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.