Gen. Selva Takes The Reins At USTRANSCOM

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. - Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva took command of U.S. Transportation Command in a ceremony today at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel presided over the ceremony, during which Selva became the 11th USTRANSCOM commander and the outgoing commander, Gen. William M. Fraser III, retired.

“It is no exaggeration to say that our military could not do its job without TRANSCOM’s capabilities on the ground, at sea, and in the air,” Hagel said.  “You help keep our people fed, our equipment fueled, and you help get everyone and everything to where they need to be on a scale that surpasses any organization in the world.

“As you all know, General Fraser was a bomber pilot before coming to TRANSCOM.  But that didn’t stop him from succeeding here.  Because, in the words of TRANSCOM’s first commander, General Duane Cassidy:

Leadership does not depend upon whether you can operate the equipment.  You can be taught how to fly airplanes, operate tanks, or drive ships; you can’t be taught how to be a leader … You have to be willing to make a commitment to somebody other than yourself.

Hagel also commented on Selva’s leadership.

“General Selva has proven himself to be a leader who embraces change and innovation,” Hagel said.  “Just recently, as the leader of Air Mobility Command, he oversaw the critical design review for America’s newest refueling tanker, the KC-46 Pegasus, and he personally delivered the final C-17 to complete the Air Force’s fleet.”

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took the podium next, and acknowledged USTRANSCOM's accomplishments under Fraser’s command.

“Thank you young men and women of United States Transportation Command,” Dempsey said.  “One of our military’s greatest strengths is that our people know when they ask for something, they’re going to get it.  No matter the danger or the circumstances they trust that what they need is on the way because it’s in the hands of Transportation Command and the men and women who populate your ranks.

“You are truly what makes us global,” Dempsey continued, “so on behalf of the Joint Chiefs who I represent, thank you for what you do.  That trust, even more than the material you deliver, makes us the strongest military that the world has ever known.”

Once the flag was passed and command assumed by Selva, he thanked all involved.

Selva spoke on the trust needed to always successfully deliver the strategic mobility required to achieve the nation’s objectives.

He also thanked what he called “Our fifth component…our civilian partners, airlines, oversea carriers, rail companies and trucking companies that truly bring mobility to our nation, in times of peace and in times of war, to you we are forever indebted“

Next Fraser received an award and his retirement certificate.  He then addressed the crowd and members of his former command.

“I came to you relatively uninitiated into the mobility world but yet you took me in.  You taught me the concepts and you have made me an enthusiastic advocate,” Fraser said.  “Secretary Hagel, these people consistently do absolutely amazing things as you mentioned and they make it look routine…I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am to have had this opportunity to be the commander of United States Transportation Command.”

USTRANSCOM, one of nine combatant commands, provides air, land and sea transportation, terminal management and aerial refueling to support the global deployment, employment, sustainment and redeployment of U.S. forces. Its components include the Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, the Air Force's Air Mobility Command, the Navy's Military Sealift Command in Washington, D.C., and the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, Norfolk, Va.

Gen. Paul J. Selva’s biography can be found at http://www.transcom.mil/bio/TCCC.pdf

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