​Adm. Craig Faller took over as commander of US Southern Command during a ceremony Monday in Florida. Faller, who previously served as the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, assumed command from retiring Adm. Kurt Tidd.

Watch highlights from Faller's remarks at the Nov. 26 change-of-command ceremony. DOD video.

Mattis, during the ceremony, said SOUTHCOM is positioned to “counter transnational threat networks, prepare and respond to natural disasters, and promote military professionalism and military-to-military exchanges across the region.”

SOUTHCOM oversees a region that is largely secure and not prone to conflict because of international alliances, though countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba have shown to be anti-democratic.

“Our fortunate, forward-looking hemisphere has made strides not only democratically, but also economically and militarily,” Mattis said. “As the political dimension matures and economic headwinds are encountered, our hemisphere’s militaries can be stabilizing forces, especially when we collaborate to protect our peoples from mother nature’s storms and manmade insults to civilization, whether terrorism, drug trafficking, or other security threats."