United States Third Fleet

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Third Fleet


caption= Third Fleet emblem
dates= March 15, 1943–Present
country= United States of America
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branch= United States Navy
type= Fleet
role= Direct Fleet Operations
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command_structure= U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT)
garrison= Naval Base Point Loma
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current_commander= Vice Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III
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notable_commanders= Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey
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The Third Fleet is one of six numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific ocean areas including the Bering Sea, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and a sector of the Arctic. Major oil and trade sea lines of communication within this area are critically important to the economic health of the United States and friendly nations throughout the Pacific Rim region. [cite web | title = Global Security.org Third Fleet | url= http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/c3f.htm | accessdate = 2006-12-10 ]

History

Third Fleet was originally formed during World War II on March 15, 1943 under the command of Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey. He opened his headquarters ashore in Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii, on June 15, 1944. The fleet operated in and around the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Formosa, Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands with the USS|New Jersey|BB-62|6 and (from May 1945 to the end of the war), the USS|Missouri|BB-63|6 as its flagship. It also operated in Japanese waters launching attacks on Tokyo, the naval base at Kure and the island of Hokkaidō.

The ships of the Third Fleet also formed the basis of the Fifth Fleet, which was the designation of the "Big Blue Fleet" when under the command of Admiral Raymond Spruance. Spruance and Halsey would alternate command of the fleet for major operations, allowing the other admiral and his staff time to prepare for the subsequent one. A secondary benefit was confusing the Japanese into thinking that they were actually two separate fleets as the fleet designation flipped back and forth.

Embarked aboard his flagship "Missouri", Admiral Halsey led his fleet into Tokyo Bay on August 29, 1945. On September 2, the surrender documents ending the war were signed on her decks. Third Fleet remained in Japanese waters until late September when its ships were directed to sail for the West Coast of the United States. On October 7, 1945 Third Fleet was designated a reserve fleet and decommissioned from active status. On February 1, 1973, following a reorganization of the Pacific Fleet, the United States Third Fleet was recommissioned as an active fleet and assumed the duties of the former First Fleet and Pacific Anti-Submarine Warfare Force located at Ford Island, Hawaii. Third Fleet trains naval forces for overseas deployment and evaluates state-of-the-art technology for fleet use. Additionally, Third Fleet could deploy in the event of a major conflict.

On November 26, 1986, Commander, Third Fleet shifted his flag from his headquarters ashore to resume status as an afloat commander for the first time since World War II, aboard USS|Coronado|AGF-11|6. In August 1991, Third Fleet’s commander, his staff and the command ship "Coronado" shifted homeports to San Diego, California. In September 2003, Commander, Third Fleet shifted his flag from the command ship "Coronado" to headquarters ashore at Point Loma, San Diego, California. [cite web | title = United States Navy Third Fleet (Official Website) | url= http://www.airnav.com/airport/KNQX | accessdate = 2006-12-10 ]

Current operations

The U.S. Third Fleet is assigned a number of missions and responsibilities. Third Fleet's primary mission is one of conflict deterrence, but in the event of general war, it would conduct prompt and sustained combat operations at sea to carry out the U.S. Pacific Fleet strategy in the theater. Such operations would be executed well forward and early in a conflict to carry out the primary wartime mission of Third Fleet—the defense of the western sea approaches to the United States, including Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.Fact|date=October 2007 The primary means of carrying out these missions are the five "Nimitz" class aircraft carriers attachedFact|date=October 2007 to the Third Fleet:

*USS|Nimitz|CVN-68
*USS|Carl Vinson|CVN-70 (starting in 2010)
*USS|Abraham Lincoln|CVN-72
*USS|John C. Stennis|CVN-74
*USS|Ronald Reagan|CVN-76

In addition, Commander, Third Fleet is designated as a Joint Task Force (JTF) Commander. In that capacity, the Commander and his staff may be assigned responsibilities for command of joint U.S. forces deployed in response to a specific event or contingency. As such, the JTF Commander reports via a joint chain of command to a unified commander. The Commander-In-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command is the unified commander in the Pacific theater.

In peacetime, Third Fleet continually trains Navy and Marine Corps forces for their expeditionary warfare mission. In keeping with the Department of the Navy strategic concept "Forward... from the Sea", these forces provide the flexibility and immediate response necessary to react to any emerging crisis from humanitarian and peacekeeping missions to major regional conflicts. These forces are prepared to provide the critical first response in a transition between peacetime operations and escalating regional tensions. If required, these forces carry the power and capabilities necessary to establish and hold an initial foothold to allow larger joint operations to follow on a large scale in the event a major conflict ensues. Finally, when the conflict is resolved, those naval expeditionary forces remain on the scene to help shape the peace and ensure compliance. Third Fleet training has been designed to ensure that deploying forces are fully prepared for joint operations. All training is conducted within a joint environment—employing joint terminology, doctrine, procedures, command and control—to ensure that forces are ready to join with other branches of the Military of the United States under a joint command structure.

Task Force units

References

External links

* [http://www.c3f.navy.mil/ Commander, United States Navy Third Fleet homepage]