| United States Pacific Fleet | |
|---|---|
 The seal of the Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet | |
| Founded | 1907; 118 years ago (1907) |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Theater-levelcommand |
| Size | 250,000 Navy sailors andMarines 2,000 aircraft 200 ships |
| Part of | Indo-Pacific Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Naval Station Pearl Harbor |
| Engagements | |
| Website | cpf.navy.mil |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | ADMStephen Koehler |
| Deputy Commander | VADMBlake Converse |
| Fleet Master Chief | FLTCMDonald L. Davis Jr.[1] |
TheUnited States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is atheater-levelcomponent command of theUnited States Navy, located in thePacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to theIndo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is atJoint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam,Hawaii, with large secondary facilities atNaval Air Station North Island,California.
A Pacific Fleet was created in 1907 when theAsiatic Squadron and thePacific Squadron were combined. In 1910, the ships of the First Squadron were organized back into a separateAsiatic Fleet. The General Order 94 of 6 December 1922 organized theUnited States Fleet, with theBattle Force as the Pacific presence. Until May 1940, the Battle Force was stationed on theWest Coast of the United States. Headquarters, battleships, aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers were stationedat San Pedro close to theLong Beach Naval Shipyard. Light cruisers, destroyers and submarines were stationed atSan Diego.
During the summer of 1940, as part of the U.S. response toJapanese expansionism, the fleet was instructed to take an "advanced" position atPearl Harbor, Hawaii. AdmiralJames O. Richardson, the fleet's commander, strongly opposed long-term basing at Pearl Harbor, feeling that it would leave the fleet vulnerable to Japanese attack, and personally protested the move inWashington, D.C. Political considerations were thought sufficiently important that he was relieved by AdmiralHusband E. Kimmel, who was in command at the time of theattack on Pearl Harbor. The Pacific Fleet was formally recreated on 1 February 1941, when General Order 143 split the United States Fleet into separate Atlantic, Pacific, andAsiatic Fleets.
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On 7 December, the Fleet consisted of the Battle Force,Scouting Force, Base Force, Amphibious Force (ComPhibPac),[2] Cruiser Force (COMCRUPAC), Destroyer Force (COMDESPAC), and the Submarine Force (COMSUBPAC).[note 1] Also in Hawaii was theFourteenth Naval District, commanded by Rear AdmiralClaude C. Bloch.
§ = Divisional flagship
These nine battleships were intended to counterbalance the ten battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. At the time of theattack on Pearl Harbor,Pennsylvania was in dry dock undergoing maintenance, andColorado was in the midst of a refit atBremerton Navy Yard,Washington.
When the attack took place, all three carriers were absent –Saratoga was inSan Diego collecting her air group following a major refit,Enterprise was en route back to Hawaii following a mission to deliver aircraft toWake Island, whileLexington had just departed on a similar mission toMidway.
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The Amphibious Force was formally known as Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet (ComPhibPac). On 7 December 1941 the Amphibious Force comprised the Army's3rd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, under Army operational control, the2nd Marine Division, the2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the 2nd Defense Battalion (seeMarine defense battalions), and a depot.[6] One of PhibPac's subordinate commands during World War II was Transports, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, or TransPhibPac. The commander of TransPhibPac was known as ComTransPhibPac. In addition to the ships assigned directly to the Pacific Fleet, Destroyer Division 80, consisting of the destroyersSchley,Chew,Ward andAllen, was assigned directly to the Fourteenth Naval District for the defence of the base and the fleet.
In December 1941, the fleet consisted of ninebattleships, threeaircraft carriers, 12heavy cruisers, eightlight cruisers, 50destroyers, 33submarines, and 100patrol bombers.[citation needed] This was approximately the fleet's strength at the time of theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That day, the JapaneseCombined Fleet carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor, drawing the United States intoWorld War II in the Pacific. The Pacific Fleet'sBattle Line took the brunt of the attack, with two battleships destroyed, two salvageable but requiring lengthy reconstruction, and four more lightly to moderately damaged, forcing the U.S. Navy to rely primarily on aircraft carriers and submarines for many months afterward.
Subsequently, Pacific Fleet engagements during World War II included theBattle of Guam, theMarshalls-Gilberts raids, theDoolittle Raid, theSolomon Islands campaign, theBattle of the Coral Sea, theBattle of Midway, theBattle of the Eastern Solomons, theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands, theBattle of the Philippine Sea, theGilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, theBattle of Leyte Gulf, and theBattle of Okinawa. More minor battles included theBattle of Dutch Harbor. The Submarine Force began a sustained campaign ofcommerce raiding against Japan'smerchant marine, beginning the first day of the war, which ultimately claimed 1,314 ships totalling about 5.3 million tons (by the imperfect postwar reckoning of theJoint Army-Navy Assessment Committee, JANAC).[7] TheWest Loch disaster occurred at Pearl Harbor on 21 May 1944.
The Pacific Fleet took part inOperation Magic Carpet, the return of U.S. servicemen, after the end of the Second World War.The organization of the Pacific Fleet in January 1947 is shown in Hal M. Friedman'sArguing over the American Lake: Bureaucracy and Rivalry in the U.S. Pacific, 1945–1947.[8]
Since 1950, the Pacific Fleet has been involved in theKorean War, theVietnam War, the twoTaiwan Straits Crises, and a number of other operations including theMayaguez Incident of 1975, as well as post-Vietnam related operations such asOperation New Arrivals. TheRIMPAC exercise series began in 1971.
On 7 March 1984, the Secretaries of Transportation and Navy signed a Memorandum of Agreement which created the Maritime Defense Zones (MDZ).[9] The Pacific MDZ is an echelon three Navy command under the Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Pacific MDZ has responsibility for coastal defense up to 200nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) around the U.S. West Coast, Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii during times of hostility. On 1 October 1990, CommanderU.S. Naval Forces Alaska (COMUSNAVAK) was established as the Naval Component Commander to Commander,Alaskan Command (COMALCOM). Since its inception, COMUSNAVAK has grown to become responsible for coordinating all Navy activity in the Alaska and Aleutian area, for detailed planning and coordination for the Naval portion of the Joint and CombinedExercise Northern Edge, and coordinates high-visibility U.S. Navy ship visits throughout Alaska in support of public relations and recruiting initiatives.
The very largePACEX 89 in the North Pacific involved the USN, Canadian Navy,Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, and ROK Navy. At the end of Exercise PACEX '89 a 54-ship formation was assembled for photos. It included the flagship,USS Blue Ridge, theUSS Enterprise Battle Group, theUSS Carl Vinson Battle Group, two battleship surface action groups formed aroundUSS New Jersey andUSS Missouri, and aJapanese Maritime Self-Defence Force task force.[citation needed]Missouri andNew Jersey performed a simultaneous gunfire demonstration for the aircraft carriersEnterprise andNimitz during PACEX. The highlight of PacEx forMissouri was a port visit inBusan,Republic of Korea.[10]
Other operations undertaken since include participation in the Alaskan Oil Spill Joint Task Force, including participation of Commander, Amphibious Group Three, as deputy CJTF. This was the defence response to theExxon Valdez oil spill of March 1989.
Also, the Pacific Fleet was involved in "Classic Resolve" during the December1989 Philippine coup attempt.Enterprise,CVW-11 and Battle Group FOXTROT joined forces with USSMidway (CV-41) and Battle Group ALPHA near Manila Bay. Operation Classic Resolve involved contingency operations, if necessary, to support U.S. interests following the Philippine coup attempt. Both battle groups were chopped to JTF Philippines. During the operations, the carriers maintained deck alerts and 24-hour coverage of Manila with E-2C aircraft.[11] CVW-11 returned home through the Arabian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, leaving its ship, the “Big E", in Norfolk, Virginia for refueling.
Around 10 September 1990,[12]USS Princeton andUSS Reuben James visitedVladivostok. This marked the firstUnited States Navy visit to theSoviet Union's Pacific port of Vladivostok since before World War II. Before the visit was completed, the crew received word that their Pacific cruise was canceled. They returned to Long Beach and joined theUSS Ranger Battle Group preparing to deploy to thePersian Gulf.
DuringOperation Fiery Vigil in June 1991, the following vessels and groups participated in the sealift phase of the evacuation: theAbraham Lincoln battle group (COMCARGRU 3 embarked):USS Abraham Lincoln,USS Long Beach,USS Lake Champlain,USS Merrill,USS Gary,USS Ingraham,USS Roanoke, Amphibious Ready Group Alpha (COMPHIBRON 3 embarked):USS Peleliu,USS Cleveland,USS Comstock,USS Bristol County, and a large number of other vessels:USS Midway,USS Curts,USS Rodney M. Davis,USS Thach,USS Arkansas,USS McClusky,USS St. Louis,USS San Bernardino,MV1st Lt. Jack Lummus,MV American Condor,USS Niagara Falls,USNS Ponchatoula,USNSPassumpsic,USNSHassayampa,USS Haleakala,USNS Spica,USS Cape Cod. (CNA, 1994, 113) Further operations included JTF Marianas (August–September 1992) and JTF Hawaii (September–October 1992).
Other contingency operation after 1991 includedOperation Sea Angel (Bangladesh relief) (led by CommanderIII Marine Expeditionary Force),Operation Eastern Exit, and involvement in theSomali Civil War – 'Restore Hope'. During 'Restore Hope,' Navy command arrangements underwent a number of changes during the operation. At the start, the principal naval forces were theRanger battle group (with Commander,Carrier Group One embarked onUSS Ranger as Commander, Naval Forces), theKitty Hawk battle group, an amphibious task unit includingUSS Tripoli,USS Juneau,USS Rushmore, and MVLummus, and three ships from MPSRON TWO (MVAnderson, MVBonnyman, and MVPhillips). Other events led to the departure of the carriers and, as a result, Commander, Naval Forces responsibilities devolved first to Commander, Carrier Group Three, onKitty Hawk, and thence to Commander, Amphibious Group Three. Finally Commander,Amphibious Squadron 3 became COMNAVFOR on 15 January with the departure of COMPHIGRU THREE after the completion of the MPF offload. (CNA, 1994, 168)
In 1995, Pacific Fleet surface ships were reshuffled.[13] Effective 1 October 1995, the U.S. Pacific Fleet's surface ships were to be reorganized into six core battle groups and eight destroyer squadrons. Permanent core battle groups were to include a battle group commander, aircraft carrier, carrier air wing and at least two cruisers.
Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific:
In 1996 two carrier battle groups were sent to the Taiwan area during theThird Taiwan Straits Crisis. Later ships of the Pacific Fleet, notablyUSS Mobile Bay, aTiconderoga-classcruiser, provided support to the entry ofINTERFET inEast Timor in 1999.
Between 25 and 27 March 2006,Carrier Strike Group Nine participated in a series of anti-submarine warfare exercises (ASW) in Hawaiian waters while en route to theU.S. Seventh Fleet's area of responsibility. In addition to the strike group, the exercise also included the nuclear-powered attack submarinesSeawolf,Cheyenne,Greeneville,Tucson, andPasadena, as well as land-basedP-3 Orion aircraft from CommanderPatrol and Reconnaissance Wing 2 and associated patrol squadronsVP-4,VP-9, andVP-47.[14][15]
As of 2011, the Pacific Fleet has authority over:
Naval shore commands over which USPACFLT has authority:
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| Other | |
