Army Reserve Col. John E. Cardwell will be promoted to the rank of brigadier general and will become the new commander of 9th Mission Support Command, which is in charge of 3,500 reservists in the Pacific, the Pentagon announced today.

Cardwell has been acting commander of the Army Reserve Pacific headquarters located at Fort Shafter since January. He replaced Brig. Gen. Michelle G. Compton, who served for 31 months

Besides 3,500 Army Reserve soldiers, Cardwell’s command includes 160 civilians throughout the Pacific, including Hawaii, Alaska, American Samoa, Japan, Korea, Guam and Saipan.

Cardwell is a native of Tennessee, and graduated from the University of Tennessee on an ROTC scholarship in 1984.