On December 30, the Perry Center bade farewell to Mr. Stephen A Meyer, Executive Liaison to US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), and thanked him for a lifetime of public service. In appreciation for his support to the Center, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), and USSOUTHCOM over the past nine years, Mr. Meyer was named a Distinguished Member Emeritus of the Perry Center and honored with the DSCA Director’s Award for Excellence.

Since his appointment as executive liaison in 2009, Mr. Meyer has been instrumental in communicating the Center’s mission to a wide audience of domestic stakeholders and foreign partners. He has also worked with Perry Center faculty and officials across the interagency to develop unique programs that support the policy priorities of USSOUTHCOM and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Highly regarded for his expertise in security cooperation activities, Mr. Meyer served a key civilian advisor to senior officials and policymakers in the Department of Defense, including the Perry Center Director, DSCA Director, and four USSOUTHCOM Commanders.

Interim Director Jeffrey Murphy (right) presents Mr. Stephen Meyer with a distinguished member emeritus certificate

Prior to assuming his position as Executive Liaison to USSOUTHCOM, Mr. Meyer served in various federal capacities for over 35 years. Commissioned as an officer the US Army, Mr. Meyer became an infantry officer and, subsequently, a Latin America foreign area officer. His previous active duty assignments included: Operations and Exercise officer, US Southern Command; Operations/Executive Officer, Army Forces, Joint Task Force Bravo, Honduras; Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages (Spanish), US Military Academy, West Point; Army Program Manager, US Military Group, Honduras; Political Military Officer, Army Staff; and Political-Military Division Chief, US Southern Command. After retiring from the Army, Mr. Meyer was the project manager for a joint logistics exercise and a regional program manager for the US Humanitarian Mine Action program at USSOUTHCOM.

Acting Director Jeffrey Murphy commended Mr. Meyer for his service. Mr. Murphy described the Perry Center’s departing executive liaison as a tireless advocate who has been instrumental in adapting and refocusing Perry Center’s programs to better support changing regional needs and evolving priorities of USSOUTHCOM and OSD.

The Perry Center will miss working closely with Mr. Meyer, but wishes him the best of luck as he embarks on a new journey.