Bantz John Craddock is a former United States Army general. His last military assignment was as Commander, United States European Command and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe from December 2006 to June 30, 2009. He also served as Commander, United States Southern Command from November 9, 2004 to December 2006. After his retirement in 2009, he became chief executive of Military Professional Resources, Inc. (MPRI).
Bantz J. Craddock
Craddock speaking with a Kosovar soldier in June 1999.
First meeting between Craddock and Major General Valeri Evtoukovitich (left) commander of Russian Forces in Kosovo at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, on July 7, 1999.
Craddock with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in June 2009.
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
