Stars and Stripes

The Department of Defense established a new senior command on Guam on Friday as it moves to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

Joint Task Force-Micronesia, headquartered on Nimitz Hill, is the newest command on the 212-square-mile island that has increasingly become the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific stronghold. The task force is expected to coordinate defenses, oversee humanitarian missions and act as a direct conduit for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, formerly the commander of Joint Region Marianas, stepped in as the task force’s inaugural leader during a Friday ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base.

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