Air Force General Norton A. Schwartz took command of U.S. Transportation Command in a ceremony here today.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld was the guest speaker for the ceremony in which Gen. Schwartz succeeded Air Force Gen. John W. Handy as the USTRANSCOM Commander. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presided over the event.

Schwartz`s last assignment was Director, Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C.

Gen. Schwartz graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1973, is an alumnus of the National War College and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He is a command pilot with more than 4,200 hours flown in a variety of air frames and a former commander of the Special Operations Command Pacific, the Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North America Aerospace Defense Command Region and the 11th Air Force.

Today`s ceremony marked the first separation of command responsibilities between USTRANSCOM and Air Mobility Command, the Air Force component command to USTRANSCOM. Retiring Air Force Gen. Handy served as the commander of USTRANSCOM and commander of AMC during the past four years. After relinquishing both commands, Handy was retired from the Air Force having served 39 years on active duty.

President George W. Bush has nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Duncan J. McNabb to receive a fourth star and to become the commander of AMC. This nomination is awaiting confirmation by the Senate. During today`s ceremony, Gen. Handy relinquished his responsibilities as AMC commander to Lt. Gen. Christopher A, Kelly who has been serving as the AMC Vice Commander since May.

USTRANSCOM is one of the nine U.S. military combatant commands and is headquartered here at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. USTRANSCOM provides Air, Land and Sea transportation for the Department of Defense in peace and in war and is supported by Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine, and Coast Guard personnel. As the new commander of USTRANSCOM, Schwartz also becomes the DoD`s Distribution Process Owner. The DPO is tasked with developing efficient and effective distribution solutions to enhance strategic support to worldwide customers.

Air Mobility Command is also headquartered at Scott AFB. Other USTRANSCOM components include the Navy`s Military Sealift Command, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and the Army`s Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command headquartered in Alexandria, Va.