United States Fleet Forces Command
(
Commands Of The United States Navy
)
The United States Fleet Forces Command ( USFFC) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) under the authority of the Secretary of Defense. Originally formed as United States Atlantic Fleet ( USLANTFLT) in 1906, it has been an integral part of the defense of the United States of America since the early 20th century. In 2002, the Fleet comprised over 118,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel serving on 186 ships and in 1,300 aircraft, with an area of responsibility ranging over most of the Atlantic Ocean from the North Pole to the South Pole, the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Central America and South America (as far west as the Galapagos Islands).
In 2006 the U.S. Atlantic Fleet was renamed United States Fleet Forces Command.
The command is based at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia and is the Navy's service component to U.S. Northern Command and is the Joint Functional Maritime Component Command under the U.S. Strategic Command.
The command's mission is to organize, man, train, and equip naval forces for assignment to Unified Command Combatant commanders; to deter, detect, and defend against homeland maritime threats; and to articulate Fleet warfighting and readiness requirements to the Chief of Naval Operations.Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Fleet Forces Command Mission
History
Expansion and contraction
The first commander of the fleet was Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, who hoisted his flag in the battleship on 1 January 1906. The following year, he took his 16 battleships, now dubbed the Great White Fleet, on a round-the-world cruise that lasted until 1909, a goodwill tour that also served the purpose of advertising the United States' naval strength and reach to all other nations of the globe.
In January 1913 the fleet consisted of six first-line divisions, a torpedo flotilla, submarines, and fleet auxiliaries. The fleet was under the command of Rear Admiral Hugo Osterhaus.
- The First Division, under Rear Admiral Bradley A. Fiske, consisted of (flag), , and .
- The Second Division, under Rear Admiral Nathaniel R. Usher with his flag aboard the , consisted of , , , and .
- The Third Division, under Rear Admiral Cameron McR. Winslow, comprised (flag), , , , and .
- The Fourth Division, under Rear Admiral Frank F. Fletcher, consisted of the , , , , and . (See United States occupation of Veracruz).
- Fifth and Sixth Divisions were made up of protected cruisers, , , , and , , , and .
The Cruiser and Transport Force, under Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves served in Atlantic waters during World War I moving the American Expeditionary Forces to Europe. United States Battleship Division Nine joined the Grand Fleet in the UK.
The Atlantic Fleet was reorganized into the Scouting Force in 1923, which was under the United States Fleet along with the Pacific Fleet. In January 1939 the Atlantic Squadron, United States Fleet, was formed, with Vice Admiral Alfred Wilkinson Johnson commanded. The aircraft carrier was transferred to the Atlantic Ocean, to join three .
On 1 November 1940 the Atlantic Squadron was renamed the Patrol Force. The Patrol Force was organized into type commands: Battleships, Patrol Force; Cruisers, Patrol Force; Destroyers, Patrol Force; and, Train, Patrol Force (the logistics arms).
World War II
Subsequently, the headquarters was in a rather odd assortment of ships; the , then the old wooden ship , , and then . In 1948, the HQ moved into the former naval hospital at Norfolk, Virginia, and has remained there ever since.
In July 1942, eight months after the United States entered the war, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's America and West Indies Station based at Admiralty House, Bermuda had his title changed to Senior British Naval Officer, Western Atlantic. visited Bermuda in September, 1941. The Andrew and The Onions: The Story of The Royal Navy in Bermuda, 1795–1975, by Lieutenant-Commander B. Ian D. Stranack. Bermuda Maritime Museum Press Kennedy-Purvis, Sir Charles Edward, Royal Navy (RN) Officers, 1939-1945. Unit Histories; Curteis, Sir Alban Thomas Buckley, Royal Navy (RN) Officers, 1939-1945. Unit Histories; ADMIRALS IN BERMUDA EMPHASIZE VIGILANCE; Need Continues, American and British Chiefs Assert, New York Times. 1 February 1942
Composition of the Atlantic Fleet in December 1941
- United States Atlantic Fleet - Commander: Admiral Ernest King (Flagship: )
- Battleships, Atlantic Fleet (made up of three Battleship Divisions) - Commander: Rear Admiral David M. LeBreton (Flagship: USS New York)
- Aircraft, Atlantic Fleet (made up of one Carrier Division) - Commander: Rear Admiral Arthur B. Cook (Flagship: USS Yorktown)
- Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet (made up of four Cruiser Divisions) - Commander: Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt (Flagship: USS Philadelphia)
- Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet (made up of three Destroyer Flotillas) - Commander: Rear Admiral Ferdinand L. Reichmuth (Flagship: )
- Patrol Wings, Atlantic Fleet (made up of five Patrol Wings) - Commander: Rear Admiral Ernest McWhorter (Flagship: )
- Submarines, Atlantic Fleet (made up of four Submarine Squadrons) - Commander: Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards (Flagship: )
§ = Divisional flagship
Battleships, Atlantic Fleet
- Battleship Division 3 (Rear Admiral William R. Munroe)
- §
- Battleship Division 5 (Rear Admiral David M. LeBreton)
- §
- Battleship Division 6 (Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox Jr.)
- §
Of these, Battleship Division 5 was a training unit consisting of the oldest remaining battleships in service, while Division 6 was responsible for working up the two most recently commissioned battleships, North Carolina and Washington.
Aircraft, Atlantic Fleet
- Carrier Division 3 (Rear Admiral Arthur B. Cook)
The aircraft carriers Yorktown and Long Island were directly attached to Aircraft, Atlantic Fleet, as was the newly commissioned Hornet, which was in the process of working up.
Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet
- Cruiser Division 2 (Rear Admiral Jonas H. Ingram)
- §
- Cruiser Division 7 (Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen)
- §
- Cruiser Division 8 (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt)
- §
Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet
- Destroyer Flotilla Three
- Destroyer Squadron 7
- Destroyer Squadron 9
- Destroyer Squadron 11
- Destroyer Flotilla Four
- Destroyer Squadron 2
- Destroyer Squadron 8
- Destroyer Flotilla Eight
- Destroyer Squadron 27
- Destroyer Squadron 30
- Destroyer Squadron 31
Patrol Wings, Atlantic Fleet
- Patrol Wing Three
- VP-31
- VP-32
- Patrol Wing Five
- VP-51
- VP-52
- Patrol Wing Seven
- VP-71
- VP-72
- VP-73
- VP-74
- Patrol Wing Eight
- VP-81
- VP-82
Submarines, Atlantic Fleet
- Submarine Squadron One
- Submarine Division 11
- Submarine Division 12
- Experimental Division 1
- Submarine Squadron Three
- Submarine Division 72
- Submarine Squadron Five
- Submarine Division 51
- Submarine Division 52
- Submarine Division 53
- Submarine Squadron Seven
- Submarine Division 31
- Submarine Division 4
- Submarine Division 71
Other elements of the Atlantic Fleet
Admiral King was appointed Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, on 20 December 1941. Rear Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll was designated, with the rank of vice admiral, to relieve him as Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet. He took command on 1 January 1942, and was advanced to the rank of admiral on 1 July 1942. To carry out this mission and other tasks CinCLant had in the meantime been reorganized, as of 1 March 1941, into ten task forces (commanded by flag officers) numbered from one to ten and named according to their intended employment. Task Force One was the Ocean Escort Force, TF2—Striking Force, TF3—Scouting Force, TF4—Support Force, TF5—Submarine Force, TF6—Naval Coastal Frontier Forces, TF7—Bermuda Force, TF8—Patrol Wings, TF9—Service Force, and Task Force 10, 1st Marine Division (commanded by a Brigadier General).
Of many significant engagements, Captain Daniel Gallery's capture of the German submarine U-505 stands out. The capture was so top secret (because of the enigma code books captured) that the ship's flag was kept by the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, and not handed over to Navy authorities until after the war.
Cold War
Between 1947 and 1985, the fleet command was a concurrent appointment with the United States Atlantic Command. The Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT) was traditionally a navy four-star admiral who also then held the positions of Commander-in-Chief United States Atlantic Command (CINCLANT) and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT). But after a major reorganization of the U.S. armed forces structure following the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, CINCLANFLT was separated from the two other billets. The admiral commanding the Atlantic Fleet was designated as the Deputy Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command until 1986.
Major crises the Atlantic Fleet was involved in during the Cold War included the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the 1965 United States occupation of the Dominican Republic.Naval Historical Center, Caribbean Tempest: The Dominican Republic Intervention of 1965
The general purpose forces of the Army, Navy, and Air Force began to be reorganized in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis on 16 October 1962. The command organization, as finally developed, called for the Commander in Chief, Atlantic (CINCLANT), Admiral Robert Dennison, to provide the unified command. He also retained control of all naval components involved in tactical operations, as the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet. The responsibility for Army and Air Force components was assigned to the Continental Army Command (CONARC) and the Tactical Air Command under the designation of Army Forces, Atlantic (ARLANT), and Air Forces, Atlantic (AFLANT). The commander of the Army XVIII Airborne Corps was designated Joint Task Force Commander to plan for any joint operations that might become necessary. Over-all direction was exercised by the President and the Secretary of Defense through the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who named the Chief of Naval Operations as their representative for the quarantine.
Major elements of the Strategic Army Corps were designated for use by ARLANT and placed in advanced alert status. Logistic support for the more than 100,000 men involved was directed by a newly established Peninsula Base Command. Preparatory steps were taken to make possible the immediate callup of high priority Army National Guard and Army Reserve units. Tactical Air Command moved hundreds of tactical fighter, reconnaissance, and troop carrier aircraft to the southeast. To make room for all these units, the bombers, tankers, and other aircraft not required for the current operations were ordered to other bases in the United States.
From the late 1960s, nuclear ballistic missile submarines of the fleet began to make thousands of deterrent patrols. The first patrol in the Atlantic Fleet area of operations was made by .
In 1972, Commander, Anti-Submarine Warfare Force, Atlantic Fleet (Task Force 81) was headquartered at Quonset Point Naval Air Station.Sean P. Milligan, Quonset Point Naval Air Station, 1996, 127. Under ASWFORLANTFLT was Hunter-Killer Force, Atlantic Fleet (Task Force 83), with Carrier Divisions 14 and 16 (Wasp and Intrepid, respectively), as well as the Quonset ASW Group (TG 81.2) with Fleet Air Wing 3 and surface units. More information on Anti-Submarine Warfare Force, Atlantic Fleet's, activities during the Cuban crisis can be found at the National Security Archive's document collections.
The Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic was formed on 1 July 1975, incorporating a number of previously separate smaller commands – mine warfare vessels/units, service vessels, and frigates, destroyers and cruisers, along with associated destroyer squadrons and cruiser/destroyer groups.
As part of a reorganization announced in July 1995 of the Atlantic Fleet's surface combatant ships into six core battle groups, nine destroyer squadrons, and a new Western Hemisphere Group, was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 24. The re-organization was to be phased in over the summer and take effect 31 August 1995, with homeport shifts occurring through 1998. In September 1995 the following ship assignments were intended to apply at the end of the transitional period:'Fleet's structure reorganized,' All Hands, September 1995, p.1-2
- Western Hemisphere Group (to be homeported at Naval Station Pascagoula and Naval Station Mayport): , , (to move to Pascagoula in FY 98), , Conolly, Scott, DDG-993, Moosebrugger, Dewert, McInerney, Boone, Doyle, Aubrey Fitch and Stark.
- Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2/Washington Battle Group: CGN-37, CG-60
- Carrier Group 2/Stennis Joint Task Group: ,
- Carrier Group 6/Kennedy/America Joint Task Group: , , and until Gates was transferred to the Western Hemisphere Group
- Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8/Eisenhower Joint Task Group: ,
- Cruiser-Destroyer Group 12/Enterprise Joint Task Group: ,
2000s
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Atlantic Fleet sent aircraft carriers and cruisers towards New York, on the fleet commander's own initiative.Clark, "Against All Enemies," 22.
On 1 October 2001, the Chief of Naval Operations designated Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT) as concurrent Commander, Fleet Forces Command (CFFC). In October–November 2002, the title of Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet was amended to Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (COMLANTFLT).
In the CNO Guidance for 2003, Admiral Vernon Clark stipulated that the terms Carrier Battle Group and Amphibious Readiness Group would be replaced by Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESGs), respectively, by March 2003. Cruiser-Destroyer and Carrier Groups (CARGRU) were also redesignated, as Carrier Strike Groups (CSG), and aligned directly under the numbered fleet commanders. The two sets of staffs were formerly under the administrative authority of their respective air and surface U.S. Navy type commands. This realignment allowed key operational leaders authority and direct access to the personnel required to more effectively accomplish the navy's mission.
The numbered fleet commanders are now responsible for the training and certification of the entire Strike Group. The organizational structure to support the carrier strike groups focuses more on placing Strike Group commanders under the authority of the certifying officer, or the numbered fleet commander. Under this new division of responsibility, the air-side type commander gains authority over the air wing, and the surface-side type commander gains authority over the carrier itself and the rest of the ships of the battle group.
On 23 May 2006, the Chief of Naval Operations renamed COMLANTFLT to Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (COMUSFLTFORCOM or CUSFFC), ordered to carry out the missions currently performed by COMFLTFORCOM (CFFC) and serve as primary advocate for fleet personnel, training, requirements, maintenance, and operational issues, reporting administratively directly to the CNO as an Echelon 2 command. The previous title CFFC was disestablished at the same time. CUSFFC previously served as the Naval component of the US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) until the disestablishment of USJFCOM in August 2011. CFFC is also assigned as the supporting service component commander to Commander, United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) as well as to Commander, United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM).
Enterprise entered an ESRA in 2008, but the refit took longer than expected. Thus on 11 September 2009, it was announced that the carrier strike group deployment schedule would be changed to accommodate the delay in the return of the Enterprise from its current overhaul. This resulted in extending both Carrier Strike Group Eleven's 2009–2010 deployment and Carrier Strike Group Ten's 2010 deployment to eight months. Enterprise returned to Naval Station Norfolk on 19 April 2010 after completing its post-overhaul sea trials, signifying the beginning of its pre-deployment training cycle.
On 24 July 2009, Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr. relieved Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert as Commander.
2010s
The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC), United States Naval Observatory (USNO), Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), Naval Oceanography Operations Command, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Professional Development Center, were all realigned under U.S. Navy Information Dominance Forces on 1 October 2014.
Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015, the Optimized Fleet Response Plan will align carrier strike groups to a 36-month training and deployment cycle. All required maintenance, training, evaluations, plus a single eight-month overseas deployment, are scheduled throughout this 36-month cycle in order to reduce costs while increasing overall fleet readiness. This new plan streamlined the inspection and evaluation process while maintaining a surge capacity for emergency deployments. The ultimate objective is to reduce time at sea while increasing in-port time from 49% to 68%. While initially to be used by U.S. Navy carrier strike groups, the Optimized Fleet Response Plan will be adopted for all fleet operations.
Accordingly, the carrier will be the first carrier to deploy under this new O-FRP cycle, replacing the previously-scheduled Eisenhower in the deployment lineup. Additionally, the Carrier Strike Group Eight command staff will deploy with the Truman while the Eisenhower will serve as the new flagship for Carrier Strike Group Ten.
On 2 December 2020, Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite announced that U.S. Fleet Forces Command will be renamed back to United States Atlantic Fleet to focus more on the growing maritime threats coming from the Atlantic. The renaming of the command has been placed on hold, pending further review of the U.S. military footprint, resources, strategy and missions, from the global force posture review.
Structure 2013
Effective 17 May 2013, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command was officially designated as the naval component commander for the U.S. Northern Command. In this new capacity, the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command is to contribute to the defense of North America through the coordination, collaboration, and communication with allied, coalition, and joint forces within the U.S. Northern Command's area of responsibility. Under this reorganization, the Commander, Navy Installations Command is responsible for area coordination for U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command. Additionally, Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic is responsible for regional coordination for U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command.
Maritime Operations
The Director of Maritime Operations (DMO) is an active-duty two-star rear admiral in the U.S. Navy while the Deputy Director of Maritime Operations is a one-star rear admiral from the United States Naval Reserve. As of 2013, the DMO was Rear Admiral Dan Cloyd. Maritime Operations is organized into the following directorates:
Maritime Headquarters
Subordinate commands
Type commands
Task forces
Joint operations task forces
List of commanders
See also
U.S. Armed Forces operations commands
Notes
Further reading
External links
|
|
