Kurt Walter Tidd is a retired United States Navy admiral. He last served as the Commander, United States Southern Command. Prior to that assignment, Tidd served as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as the Director for Operations, Joint Staff (J-3) from 2012 to 2013, and as Commander, United States Naval Forces Southern Command and United States Fourth Fleet from August 5, 2011, to June 22, 2012. Confirmed by the Senate on December 16, 2015, Tidd received his fourth star and succeeded John F. Kelly as commander of United States Southern Command on January 14, 2016. Tidd held the title of "Old salt", which means he received his qualification for Surface Warfare before any other active-duty navy officer. He passed said title to Admiral Philip S. Davidson upon his retirement. Upon the May 30, 2018, retirement of his United States Naval Academy classmate, Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., Tidd also gained the honorific of "Old Goat" – the longest-serving Naval Academy graduate on active duty. Harris presented Tidd with the Old Goat decanter in a ceremony on April 11, 2018.
Admiral Kurt W. Tidd
Tidd meets with Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson in Washington, D.C., on March 8, 2016.
Tidd is congratulated by General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at his retirement ceremony on November 26, 2018.
United States Southern Command
The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral in Greater Miami, Florida, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation for Central and South America, the Caribbean, their territorial waters, and for the force protection of U.S. military resources at these locations. USSOUTHCOM is also responsible for ensuring the defense of the Panama Canal and the canal area.
SOUTHCOM Area of Focus
Brigadier General Sean Mulholland, SOCSOUTH Commander in 2014, honors 7th SFG(A) soldiers in Honduras
Admiral Craig S. Faller, commander, U.S. Southern Command, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and Admiral Kurt W. Tidd, outgoing commander, share the stage during the SOUTHCOM change of command ceremony on 26 November 2018.
Image: SOCSOUTH