United States Pacific Fleet

USPACFLT United States Pacific Fleet
Logo of the Commander, USPACFLT
Active	1907–present
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch	United States Navy
Type	Theater Command
Part of	United States Pacific Command
Garrison/HQ	Pearl Harbor Naval Base
Engagements	World War II Vietnam War Global War on Terrorism
Commanders
Current commander	ADM Cecil D. Haney
Notable commanders	James O. Richardson Husband E. Kimmel Chester W. Nimitz Raymond A. Spruance

The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to the United States Pacific Command. Its headquarters is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii.

A Pacific Fleet was created in 1907 when the Asiatic Squadron and the Pacific Squadron were combined. In 1910, the ships of the First Squadron were organized back into a separate Asiatic Fleet. The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. Until May 1940, the Battle Fleet was stationed on the west coast of the United States. During the summer of that year, as part of the U.S. response to Japanese expansionism, it was instructed to take an "advanced" position at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Long term basing at Pearl Harbor was so strongly opposed by the commander, Admiral James O. Richardson, that he personally protested in Washington. Political considerations were thought sufficiently important that he was relieved by Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, who was in command at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Pacific Fleet was formally recreated on 1 February 1941. On that day General Order 143 split the United States Fleet into separate Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic Fleets.

Composition of the Pacific Fleet in May 1941

On 7 December, the Fleet consisted of the Battle Force, Scouting Force, Base Force, Amphibious Force (ComPhibPac), and the Submarine Force (COMSUBPAC). Also in Hawaii was the Fourteenth Naval District, commanded by Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch.

The Battle Force consisted of Battleships, Battle Force, made up of three Battleship Divisions: Battleship Division 1 with USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and USS Arizona (BB-39) with USS Nevada (BB-36); Battleship Division 2 with USS Tennessee (BB-43) and USS California (BB-44) with USS Oklahoma (BB-37); and USS Colorado (BB-45), USS Maryland (BB-46) and USS West Virginia (BB-48). These nine battleships were intended to counterbalance the ten battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) was in dry dock and USS Colorado (BB-45) was being refitted at Bremerton Navy Yard, Washington State. USS Arizona (BB-39) was mated with USS Nevada (BB-36) and USS Oklahoma (BB-37) at that time.

Other components of the Battle Force included Aircraft, Battle Force, with Carrier Division One and Carrier Division Two, plus Cruiser Divisions 4, 5, and 6, as well as Destoryers, Battle Force. The Scouting Force included Cruiser Division Three (USS Richmond (CL-9), USS Concord (CL-10), and USS Trenton (CL-11)) and Cruiser Division Nine and Submarines, Scouting Force.

The Amphibious Force was formally known as Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet (ComPhibPac). On 7 December 1941 the Amphibious Force comprised the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, under Army operational control, the 2nd Marine Division, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the 2nd Defense Battalion (see Marine defense battalions), and a depot. 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 December 1941, the fleet consisted of nine battleships, three aircraft carriers, 12 heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers, 50 destroyers, 33 submarines, and 100 patrol bombers.^{[citation needed]} This was approximately the fleet's strength at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That day, the Japanese Combined Fleet carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor, initiating World War II in the Pacific. The Pacific Fleet's Battle Line was virtually destroyed, 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 the Battle of Guam, the Marshalls-Gilberts raids, the Doolittle Raid, the Solomon Islands campaign, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the Battle of Okinawa. More minor battles included the Battle of Dutch Harbor. The Submarine Force began a sustained campaign of commerce raiding against Japan's merchant marine, beginning the very first day of the war, which ultimately claimed 1,314 ships totalling about 5.3 million tons (by the imperfect postwar reckoning of the Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee, JANAC).

Post 1945

The Pacific Fleet took part in Operation 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's 'Arguing over the American Lake: Bureaucracy and Rivalry in the U.S. Pacific, 1945-1947.'

Since 1950 the Pacific Fleet has been involved in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the two Taiwan Straits Crises, and a number of other operations including the Mayaguez Incident of 1975, as well as post-Vietnam related operations such as Operation New Arrivals. The RIMPAC exercise series began in 1971. The very large PACEX '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 (LCC-19), the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) Battle Group, the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) Battle Group, two battleship surface action groups formed around the USS New Jersey (BB-62) and USS Missouri (BB-63), and a Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force task force.^{[citation needed]}

Other operations undertaken since Alaskan Oil Spill JTF, including participation of Commander, Amphibious Group Three, as deputy CJTF, involvement in Joint Task Force Philippines during the December 1989 coup attempt there, which involved two carrier battle groups, USS Midway and USS Enterprise-with their associated air wings operating in the Philippine Sea, chopped to JTF Philippines. During the operations, the carriers maintained deck alerts and 24-hour coverage of Manila with E-2C aircraft.

During Operation Fiery Vigil in June 1991, the following vessels participated in the sealift phase of the evacuation: the Lincoln battle group (COMCARGRU 3 embarked): USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Long Beach (CGN-9), USS Lake Champlain, USS Merrill, USS Gary, USS Ingraham, USS Roanoke, Amphibious Ready Group Alfa (COMPHIBRON 3 embarked): USS Pelilu, 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, MV 1st Lt Lummus, MV American Condor, USS Niagara Falls, USNS Ponchatoula, USNS Passumpsic, USNS Hassayampa, 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 included Operation Sea Angel (Bangladesh relief) (led by Commander III Marine Expeditionary Force), Operation Eastern Exit, and involvement in the Somali 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 the Ranger battle group (with Commander, Carrier Group One embarked on USS Ranger (CV-61) as Commander, Naval Forces), the Kitty Hawk battle group, an amphibious task unit including USS Tripoli, USS Juneau, USS Rushmore, and MV Lummus, and three ships from MPSRON TWO (MV Anderson, MV Bonnyman, and MV Phillips). Other events led to the departure of the carriers and, as a result, Commander, Naval Forces responsibilities devolved first to Commander, Carrier Group Three, on Kitty Hawk, and thence to Commander, Amphbious 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. Effective Oct. 1, 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 probably directed ..

• Destroyer Squadron 1: USS Copeland, USS George Philip, USS John A. Moore, USS Lewis B. Puller, USS Mahlon S. Tisdale, USS Sides, USS Wadsworth and USS Reid
• Destroyer Squadron 5: USS Cushing, USS John S. McCain, USS Ingersoll, USS Crommelin, USS Reuben James
• Destroyer Squadron 7: USS Elliot, USS Curtis Wilbur, USS Merrill, USS John Paul Jones and USS Harry Hill
• DesRon 9: USS Paul F. Foster, USS David R. Ray, USS Callaghan, USS Chandler, USS Ford and USS Ingraham
• DesRon 15: USS Fife, USS Hewitt, USS O'Brien, USS Curts, USS McClusky, USS Rodney M. Davis and USS Thatch
• DesRon 21: USS Kinkaid, USS Stethem, USS Benfold, USS Valley Forge, USS Jarrett and USS Rentz
• Destroyer Squadron 23: USS Oldendorf, USS John Young, USS Fitzgerald, USS Vincennes, USS Garry and USS Vandegrift
• DesRon 31: USS Fletcher, USS Leftwich, USS Russell and USS Paul Hamilton

In 1996 two carrier battle groups were sent to the Taiwan area during the Third Taiwan Straits Crisis. Later ships of the Pacific Fleet, notably the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) provided support to the entry of INTERFET in East Timor in 1999.

As of 2011, the Pacific Fleet consists of the numbered Third and Seventh Fleets, as well as Naval Air Force, Pacific; Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific; Naval Submarine Force, Pacific; and other commands.^{[citation needed]} The naval shore commands Commander Naval Forces Korea; Commander Naval Forces Japan; and Commander Naval Forces Marianas are also under the authority of the Pacific Fleet.

See List of units of the United States Navy

Commanders

Main article: Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet

See also

• History of the United States Navy
• Military history of the United States
• Pacific Partnership

External links

• Official site
• Pacific Fleet Center-Long Beach