Lt. Gen. Galvin Named to Head Latin Command

President Reagan on Friday named Army Lt. Gen. John Galvin to become commander of U.S. military forces in Latin America.

Galvin, 55, currently commander of the Army’s 7th Corps in Europe, will replace Gen. Paul F. Gorman, a controversial military hard-liner who announced his retirement this week.

A Pentagon announcement said Galvin, who like Gorman is a graduate of West Point, will receive a fourth star and be elevated to the rank of full general when he takes over the U.S. Southern Command, based in Panama, later this year.

Galvin will preside over a major hot spot in U.S. military activities and will replace one of the United States’ more controversial military commanders.

Retiring After 35 Years Gorman, 57, decided to retire after 35 years in the Army despite entreaties from President Reagan, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., Pentagon spokesman Michael Burch said.

As chief of the Southern Command, Gorman had stirred controversy in Congress and in Central America by promoting an activist U.S. role in the region.

Administration officials credited him with devising the tactic of using large-scale naval and land exercises in Central America as a reminder to the leftist Nicaraguan government of U.S. military might.

Congressional Criticism Gorman drew criticism from members of Congress for building airfields and other military facilities in Honduras, which borders Nicaragua. But he defended them as temporary despite charges by critics that they were a back-door military buildup.

Published reports have said that some State Department officials were anxious for Gorman to resign because of his controversial high profile in a region where the United States is attempting to use diplomatic as well as military pressure to bring stability.

Pentagon sources said Galvin’s appointment represents no change in Reagan Administration Latin American policy.

Galvin, a native of Melrose, Mass., commanded the 24th Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Ga., before moving to Europe in the summer of 1983.

About 9,000 U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force personnel are stationed at Southern Command headquarters in Panama.