Command

The Sailors, Marines and civilians assigned to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT), an Echelon II command, and Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet (COMFIFTHFLT), an Echelon III command, support all naval operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Since the Gulf War, COMUSNAVCENT/ COMFIFTHFLT has fulfilled the roles of both a naval component command and as the fleet command.

COMUSNAVCENT/COMFIFTHFLT help ensure peace and stability and protect America's vital interests in a 5 million square mile area of responsibility including the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. Naval forces in the region are rotationally deployed from either the Pacific or Atlantic Fleets.

Its usual configuration includes a Carrier Strike Group, Amphibious Ready Group or Expeditionary Strike Group, and other ships and aircraft with approximately 25,000 people serving afloat and 3,000 support personnel ashore. Whether launching combat aircraft from a carrier, landing Marines ashore, firing cruise missiles, or conducting peacetime military exercises with allies in the region, it remains the world's premiere naval force and America's force of choice.

This force can operate forward from the sea, carrying out its mission free of shore-based required infrastructure. It is a highly trained, motivated, mobile and potent force that remains capable and ready to strike -- anywhere, anytime!

COMUSNAVCENT is the naval pillar of the joint team responsible for executing U.S. military operations in the Central Command theater area of operations and reports directly to Commander, U.S. Central Command for operational matters, and to the Chief of Naval Operations for administrative related matters.

COMUSNAVCENT/COMFIFTHFLT units provide the ability to respond immediately to any emerging crisis, from peacekeeping and humanitarian missions to asserting necessary force in regional conflicts. Naval forces have been deployed to this region since the end of World War II. On any given day, naval forces typically represent about 60-80 percent of all U.S. military forces in the area.