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From left, Rear Adm. Edward C. Ewen, Commander Carrier Division 1; Vice Adm. Arthur D. Struble, Commander, 7th Fleet; and Rear Adm. John M. Hoskins, Commander, Carrier Division 3 pose with a World globe, while conferring aboard a 7th Fleet ship, circa August-December 1950.
(Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.) |
The U.S. 7th Fleet was established March 15, 1943, when the
Southwest Pacific Force was renamed. Today it is the largest
forward-deployed U.S. fleet and its area of responsibility includes
the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Commander U.S. 7th Fleet participated in several Pacific campaigns,
including the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines during World
War II as the naval component commander under Supreme Commander
Southwest Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur. The Fleet’s name
was changed to Naval Forces Western Pacific Jan. 1, 1947.
Just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, the force was
designated as U.S. 7th Task Fleet. Feb. 11, 1950, the force assumed
the name that it holds today -- United States 7th Fleet.
U.S. 7th Fleet units participated in every major operation of the
Korean War. The first Navy jet aircraft used in combat was launched
from a Task Force 77 carrier July 3, 1950, and the famous landings
in Inchon, Korea, were conducted by 7th Fleet amphibious ships. The
battleships Missouri, New Jersey, Iowa and Wisconsin all served as
flagships for Commander U.S. Seventh Fleet during the Korean War.
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U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Oklahoma
City (CLG-5) arrives at Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, July 21,
1964, for a three-day goodwill tour, with fleet commander Vice
Adm. Roy L. Johnson, aboard. Vietnamese Navy personnel are
waiting to help berth the ship.
(Official U.S. Army Photograph.) |
During the Vietnam War, 7th Fleet engaged in combat operations
against enemy forces through attack carrier air strikes, naval
gunfire support, amphibious operations, patrol and reconnaissance
operations and mine warfare. After the 1973 cease-fire, the Fleet
conducted mine countermeasures operations in the coastal waterways
of North Vietnam.
In response to the Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, President
George Bush directed Commander U.S. Seventh Fleet to assume
additional responsibilities as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Central
Command.
The Fleet Commander departed Yokosuka, Japan, immediately for the
Arabian Gulf and was joined by the remainder of his staff aboard his
flagship, USS Blue Ridge, Sept. 1, 1990. During Operation Desert
Shield/Desert Storm, COMUSNAVCENT exercised command and control of
the largest U.S. Navy armada since World War II.
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Harbor tugs move USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) alongside USS Providence (CLG-6) for change of 7th Fleet flagship July 7, 1964, at Yokosuka Naval Station, Japan. Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Roy L. Johnson, transferred his flag and staff from Providence to Oklahoma City at the conclusion of the former's first tour as Fleet flagship.
Note LCU-637 and several harbor tugs on the wharf, at left; large dockyard cranes; tunnels in the cliff in the background; and the large number of automobiles on board Oklahoma City.
(Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.) |
After a decisive allied victory in the Gulf, Commander U.S. 7th
Fleet relinquished control of COMUSNAVCENT to Commander, Middle East
Force April 24, 1991, and returned to Yokosuka, Japan, to continue
duties as Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet.
In 1994, 7th Fleet was assigned the additional responsibility as
Commander, Combined Naval Component Command for the defense of South
Korea. Subsequently, Commander, 7th Fleet was named one of three
primary Joint Task Force Commanders responsible to Commander in
Chief, U.S. Pacific Command.
In 1996, Commander, 7th Fleet planned and organized a deployment of
forces in response to tensions in the Taiwan Strait. In 1998, 7th
Fleet staff deployed on short notice to plan and prepare for the
evacuation of American citizens from Indonesia.
Since 2001, 7th Fleet has taken an active role in the Global War on
Terrorism by providing guidance, support and security to countries
throughout the Asia Pacific region.
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Seated in the front row at center, Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. George P. Steele poses with his staff aboard the fleet flagship, USS Oklahoma City, at Yokosuka, Japan, Feb. 20, 1975.
(Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.) |
After the devastating earthquake off Sumatra, Indonesia -- and the
resulting tsunamis -- ravaged much of Southeast Asia in December
2004, 7th Fleet units began providing humanitarian assistance and
disaster relief to many countries during Operation Unified
Assistance. That assistance included aid from the U.S. Navy hospital
ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).
USNS Mercy returned to the region in 2006 and 2008, delivering care
to almost 300,000 people in coordination with the militaries,
governments and non-governmental organizations of host nations.
On March 11, 2011 within hours after the
devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan. U.S.
7th Fleet mobilized 22 ships, 132 aircraft and more than 15,000
personnel to support the Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF) in the
largest recovery effort in their history. The relief operation that
followed was named Operation Tomodachi, after the Japanese word for
“friend.”
In the days and weeks that followed, 7th Fleet forces delivered more
than 260 tons of relief supplies to groups of isolated people
ashore. They systematically mapped and aided in the clearance of
three ports at Hachinohe, Miyako and Oshima/Kesennuma. They provided
fuel and supplies to Japanese ships and aircraft. They carefully
searched more than 2,000 square miles of ocean in a concerted effort
to find the remains of victims. They ferried electrical utility
crews and fuel to the isolated island of Oshima. They conducted more
than 160 aerial reconnaissance flights, reviewing thousands of
overhead images to search for survivors and help inform Japanese
relief and recovery efforts. And they did all of this while
contending with the challenges of radiological contamination from
the Fukushima nuclear plant, and with the angst for their loved ones
back in Yokosuka and Atsugi.
Engagement, a key 7th Fleet mission, continues to this day, with
ships making more than 500 port visits to 25 countries every year. |
U.S. 7th Fleet Commanders |
Vice Adm. Arthur S. Carpender |
Feb. 19, 1943 - Nov. 26, 1943 |
Vice Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid |
Nov. 26, 1943 - Nov. 19, 1945 |
Vice Adm. Daniel E. Barbey |
Nov. 19, 1945 - Jan. 8, 1946 |
Adm. Charles M. Cooke Jr. |
Jan. 8, 1946 - Feb. 24, 1948 |
Vice Adm. Oscar. C. Badger |
Feb. 24, 1948 - Aug. 28, 1949 |
Vice Adm. Russell S. Berkey |
Aug. 28, 1949 - April 4, 1950 |
Rear Adm. Walter. F. Boone
(Acting) |
April 4, 1950 - May 19, 1950 |
Vice Adm. Arthur D. Struble |
May 19, 1950 - March 28, 1951 |
Vice Adm. Harold. M. Martin |
March 28, 1951 - March 3, 1952 |
Vice Adm. Robert. P. Briscoe |
March 3, 1952 - May 20, 1952 |
Vice Adm. Joseph. J. Clark |
May 20, 1952 - Dec. 1, 1953 |
Vice Adm. Alfred M. Pride |
Dec. 1, 1953 - Dec. 19, 1955 |
Vice Adm. Stuart H. Ingersoll |
Dec. 19, 1955 - Jan. 28, 1957 |
Vice Adm. Wallace M. Beakley |
Jan. 28, 1957 - Sept. 30, 1958 |
Vice Adm. Frederick N. Kivette |
Sep. 30, 1958 - March 7, 1960 |
Vice Adm. Charles D. Griffin |
March 7, 1960 - Oct. 28, 1961 |
Vice Adm. William A. Schoech |
Oct. 28, 1961 - Oct. 13, 1962 |
Vice Adm. Thomas H. Moorer |
Oct. 13, 1962 - June 11, 1964 |
Vice Adm. Roy L. Johnson |
June 11, 1964 - March 1, 1965 |
Vice Adm. Paul P. Blackburn |
March 1, 1965 - Oct. 7, 1965 |
Rear Adm. Joseph W. Williams, Jr.
(Acting) |
Oct. 7, 1965 - Dec. 13, 1965 |
Vice Adm. John J. Hyland |
Dec. 13, 1965 - Nov. 6, 1967 |
Vice Adm. William F. Bringle |
Nov. 6, 1967 - March 10, 1970 |
Vice Adm. Maurice F. Weisner |
March 10, 1970 - June 18, 1971 |
Vice Adm. William P. Mack |
June 18, 1971 - May 23, 1972 |
Vice Adm. James L. Holloway, III |
May 23, 1972 - July 28, 1973 |
Vice Adm. George P. Steele |
July 28, 1973 - June 14, 1975 |
Vice Adm. Thomas B. Hayward |
June 14, 1975 - July 24, 1976 |
Vice Adm. Robert B. Baldwin |
July 24, 1976 - May 31, 1978 |
Vice Adm. Sylvester Robert Foley, Jr. |
May 31, 1978 - Feb. 14, 1980 |
Vice Adm. Carlisle A.H. Trost |
Feb. 14, 1980 - Sept. 16, 1981 |
Vice Adm. M. Staser Holcomb |
Sept. 16, 1981 - May 9, 1983 |
Vice Adm. James R. Hogg |
May 9, 1983 - March 4, 1985 |
Vice Adm. Paul F. McCarthy, Jr. |
March 4, 1985 - Dec. 9, 1986 |
Vice Adm. Paul D. Miller |
Dec. 9, 1986 - Oct. 21, 1988 |
Vice Adm. Henry H. Mauz, Jr. |
Oct. 21, 1988 - Dec. 1, 1990 |
Vice Adm. Stanley R. Arthur |
Dec. 1, 1990 - July 3, 1992 |
Vice Adm. Timothy W. Wright |
July 3, 1992 - July 28, 1994 |
Vice Adm. Archie R. Clemins |
July 28, 1994 - Sept. 13, 1996 |
Vice Adm. Robert J. Natter |
Sept. 13, 1996 - Aug. 12, 1998 |
Vice Adm. Walter F. Doran |
Aug. 12, 1998 - July 12, 2000 |
Vice Adm. James W. Metzger |
July 12, 2000 - July 18, 2002 |
Vice Adm. Robert F. Willard |
July 18, 2002 - Aug. 6, 2004 |
Vice Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert |
Aug. 6, 2004 - Sept. 12, 2006 |
Vice Adm. Doug Crowder |
Sept. 12, 2006 - July 12, 2008 |
Vice Adm. John M. Bird |
July 12, 2008 - Sept. 10, 2010 |
Vice Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk |
Sept. 10, 2010 - Sept. 7, 2011 |
Vice Adm. Scott H. Swift |
Sept. 7, 2011 - Present |
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