Navy names new Hawaii commander
Capt. Richard L. Williams Jr., right, received the Legion of Merit Medal from U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughhead in 2011. Williams has been selected for promotion to rear admiral and will head Navy Region Hawaii. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst)
Capt. Richard L. Williams Jr. has been selected for promotion to rear admiral and will head Navy Region Hawaii, which oversees the U.S. Navy’s largest and most strategic island base in the Pacific.
Williams is currently serving as branch head of assessments of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va.
He will replace Rear Adm. Fernandez "Frank" Ponds, who has been commander of the Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific since 2011.
As commander of Navy Region, Williams is tasked to support the 29 surface ships and submarines homeported at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, as well as 36 operational aircraft stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay.
Navy Region Hawaii extends over 23,000 acres of land and water on Oahu and Kauai and hosts for the headquarters of seven major Navy commands, including the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
