According to the NY Times
New York Times
"Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is considering new top command assignments that would possibly include promoting Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the former American commander in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, Pentagon and military officials say...
The most intriguing decision in this three-dimensional chess game of personnel policy could be General Craddock's successor to oversee American military operations in Latin America: Mr. Rumsfeld is considering General Sanchez for that higher post at the urging of the Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, as well as senior Army civilian officers, Pentagon and military officials say.
None of the officials spoke for attribution because no final decision had been made on the appointments.
Senior Army officers say selecting General Sanchez would reward his loyal service in handling one of the military's toughest assignments in Iraq at a time when the military did not supply him with the full support and personnel required by Army doctrine.
Further, General Sanchez's promotion would showcase the nation's highest-ranking Hispanic officer and his compelling personal story of growing up poor in southern Texas and using the military as an escalator out of poverty, at a time when the Army is struggling to meet its recruiting quotas."
According to SouthCom's website the naval base at Guantanamo Bay is one of just five bases under SouthCom's command.
This is a fact that the NY Times article missed.
