The Army will stay at about 80,000 active-duty soldiers in the Pacific, and 106,000 total personnel with reserve soldiers and civilian employees, as part of the rebalance to the region, the new four-star head of U.S. Army Pacific said Wednesday.

Gen. Robert Brown earlier in the day received his fourth star and then took command from Gen. Vince Brooks at Fort Shafter in a ceremony attended by more than 750 soldiers, senior military leaders and civilians on historic Palm Circle.

The Army is downsizing from a wartime high of 570,000 soldiers to 450,000 with budget cuts and changing mission sets. Schofield Barracks is losing 1,200 soldiers, with the bulk coming from the transformation of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team to a light infantry unit.

“Overall, we (U.S. Army Pacific) are in much better shape than other Army service component commands, and while we’re losing a little, we will be in great shape overall,” Brown told reporters after the command change.

That will be welcome news to many nations in Asia and the Pacific that want more of a U.S. presence, as well as more training, as a bulwark against China’s military expansion. U.S. Army Pacific said it engages with regional partners and allies in more than 250 events in 30-plus countries annually.

While the vastness of the Pacific lends itself to Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force operations, Brown pointed out the “key role the Army plays in the Pacific building those relationships since World War II” as part of the effort to sustain peace and build prosperity.

Brooks, who is leaving Hawaii after nearly three years, took command of U.S. Forces Korea in a ceremony Saturday at Yongsan Garrison. Brown returns to Hawaii from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he was commanding general of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center.

In past positions, Brown was a plans officer at U.S. Army Pacific, and with U.S. Pacific Command as executive assistant to the commander and director of training and exercises. He also was deputy commanding general for support with the 25th Infantry Division.

Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Daniel Allyn lauded Brooks for the “ethos of innovation” he instilled and implementation of a deploying force known as Pacific Pathways, in which 600 to 1,100 soldiers form an infantry task force with helicopters and then head out to one exercise after another without coming home in between.

The deployments keep soldier skills honed, provide logistics transportation practice, and theoretically provide a force that can jump in to help with a natural disaster or arising conflict.

Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the head of U.S. Pacific Command and one of the speakers, said the “wealth of tactical, operational and policy experience” that Brooks brought to U.S. Army Pacific helped him create Pacific Pathways.

“He had a vision of leveraging rotational Army units, helicopter deployments and existing exercises to advance critical partnerships, increase responsiveness and actually improve readiness,” Harris said.

The Pathways approach costs more — about $13 million per iteration over and above regular exercise costs, an official said — but the Army maintains it is adding to its capabilities in the region without new bases.

Harris noted that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “is on a quest for nuclear weapons, a means to miniaturize them and ways to deliver them intercontinentally.” North Korea “poses a real threat to Hawaii and the American mainland,” he added.

Korea is “no place for amateurs, but Vince Brooks is a pro’s pro,” Harris said. “I’m absolutely certain that he’s up to the challenge.”

Similarly, Brown is up to the job as head of U.S. Army Pacific, he said.

“You will be tested, and you certainly will be challenged,” Harris told Brown. “But what you bring to the table makes you the perfect choice to lead the over 100,000 soldiers of USARPAC.”