United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command ( USFLTFORCOM ) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the administrative control of the Secretary of the Navy . The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United States Northern Command ( USNORTHCOM ) under the authority of the Secretary of Defense . Originally formed as United States Atlantic Fleet ( USLANTFLT ) in 1906 , it has been an integral part of the defense of the United States of America for most of the 20th century . In 2002 , the Fleet comprised over 118 , 000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel serving on 186 ships and in 1 , 300 aircraft , with an area of responsibility ranging over most of the Atlantic Ocean from the North Pole to the South Pole , the Caribbean Sea , Gulf of Mexico , and the waters of the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Central and South America ( as far west as the Galapagos Islands ) . The command is based at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Norfolk , Virginia . The command ' s mission is to organize , man , train , and equip Naval Forces for assignment to Unified Command Combatant commander s ; to deter , detect , and defend against homeland maritime threats ; and to articulate Fleet warfighting and readiness requirements to the Chief of Naval Operations . History . Expansion and contraction . The Atlantic Fleet was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 , at the same time as the Pacific Fleet , as protection for new bases in the Caribbean acquired as a result of the Spanish - American War . The Fleet was a combination of the North Atlantic Fleet and the South Atlantic Squadron . The first commander of the fleet was Rear Admiral Robley D . Evans , who hoisted his flag in the battleship " Maine " ( BB - 10 ) on 1 January 1906 . The following year , he took his 16 battleships , now dubbed the Great White Fleet , on a round - the - world cruise that lasted until 1909 , a goodwill tour that also served the purpose of advertising the United States ' naval strength and reach to all other nations of the globe . In January 1913 the fleet consisted of six first - line divisions , a torpedo flotilla , submarines , and fleet auxiliaries . The fleet was under the command of Rear Admiral Hugo Osterhaus . The First Division , under Rear Admiral Bradley A . Fiske , consisted of USS Florida ( BB - 30 ) ( flag ) , USS Delaware ( BB - 28 ) , and USS North Dakota ( BB - 29 ) . The Second Division , under Rear Admiral Nathaniel R . Usher with his flag aboard the USS Vermont ( BB - 20 ) , consisted of USS Louisiana ( BB - 19 ) , USS Michigan ( BB - 27 ) , USS New Hampshire ( BB - 25 ) , and USS South Carolina ( BB - 26 ) . The Third Division , under Rear Admiral Cameron McR . Winslow , comprised USS Virginia ( BB - 13 ) ( flag ) , USS Georgia ( BB - 15 ) , USS New Jersey ( BB - 16 ) , USS Rhode Island ( BB - 17 ) , and USS Nebraska ( BB - 14 ) . The Fourth Division , under Rear Admiral Frank F . Fletcher , consisted of the USS Minnesota ( BB - 22 ) , USS Connecticut ( BB - 18 ) , , USS Idaho ( BB - 24 ) , and USS Kansas ( BB - 21 ) . Fifth and Sixth Divisions were made up of protected cruisers , USS St . Louis ( C - 20 ) , USS Tennessee ( ACR - 10 ) , USS Washington ( ACR - 11 ) , and USS Cleveland ( C - 19 ) , USS Denver ( CL - 16 ) , USS Des Moines ( CL - 17 ) , and USS Tacoma ( CL - 20 ) . The Cruiser and Transport Force served in Atlantic waters during World War I moving the American Expeditionary Force to Europe . United States Battleship Division Nine joined the Grand Fleet in the UK . The Atlantic Fleet was reorganized into the Scouting Force in 1923 , which was under the United States Fleet along with the Pacific Fleet . In January 1939 the Atlantic Squadron , United States Fleet , was formed . The aircraft carrier was transferred to the Atlantic Ocean , to join three battleship s . Vice Admiral Alfred Wilkinson Johnson commanded the squadron . On 1 November 1940 the Atlantic Squadron was renamed the Patrol Force . The Patrol Force was organized into type commands : Battleships , Patrol Force ; Cruisers , Patrol Force ; Destroyers , Patrol Force ; and , Train , Patrol Force ( the logistics arms ) . World War II . On 1 February 1941 , the Atlantic Fleet was resurrected and organized from the Patrol Force . Along with the Pacific Fleet and Asiatic Fleet , the fleet was to be under the command of a full Admiral , which jumped the fleet ' s commander Ernest J . King from a two - star to a four - star . King ' s flagship was " Texas " ( BB - 35 ) . Subsequently , the headquarters was in a rather odd assortment of ships ; the " Augusta " ( CA - 31 ) , then the old wooden ship " Constellation " , " Vixen " ( PG - 53 ) , and then " Pocono " ( AGC - 16 ) . In 1948 , the HQ moved into the former naval hospital at Norfolk , Virginia , and has remained there ever since . On 7 December 1941 the Fleet comprised eight separate components . Battleships , Atlantic Fleet was made up of Battleship Division Three ( BB - 40 " New Mexico " , BB - 41 " Mississippi " and BB - 42 " Idaho " ) and Battleship Division Five ( a training division made up of the older battleships BB - 34 " New York " , BB - 35 " Texas " , and BB - 33 " Arkansas " . The other components were Aircraft , Atlantic Fleet , which included Carrier Division Three with and , and additionally " Yorktown " and " Long Island " ; Cruisers , Atlantic Fleet , Patrol Wings , Atlantic Fleet ( Patrol Wing s 3 , 5 , 7 , 8 , and 9 ) ; Destroyers , Atlantic Fleet , Submarines Atlantic Fleet ; Train , Atlantic Fleet , and Amphibious Force , Atlantic Fleet ( PHIBLANT , COMPHIBLANT ) . During World War II " Transports , Amphibious Force , Atlantic Fleet " was part of this command ( ComTransPhibLant ) . Smaller units included the Antisubmarine Development Detachment , Atlantic Fleet ( ASDEVLANT ) located at Quonset Point , Rhode Island . The detachment was responsible for the study and development of antisubmarine gear during World War II . The Commander of the detachment was known as COMASDEVLANT . Admiral King was appointed Commander - in - Chief , United States Fleet , on 20 December 1941 . Rear Admiral Royal E . Ingersoll was designated , with the rank of Vice Admiral , to relieve him as Commander - in - Chief , Atlantic Fleet . He took command on 1 January 1942 , and was advanced to the rank of Admiral on 1 July 1942 . To carry out this mission and other tasks CinCLant had in the meantime been reorganized , as of 1 March 1941 , into ten task forces ( commanded by flag officers ) numbered from one to ten and named according to their intended employment . Task Force One was the Ocean Escort Force , TF2 — Striking Force , TF3 — Scouting Force , TF4 — Support Force , TF5 — Submarine Force , TF6 — Naval Coastal Frontier Forces , TF7 — Bermuda Force , TF8 — Patrol Wings , TF9 — Service Force , and Task Force 10 , 1st Marine Division ( commanded by a Brigadier General ) . Cold War . On 1 January 1946 , Commander Minesweeping Forces , Atlantic Fleet ( ComMinLant ) was activated to command minesweepers assigned to the Atlantic Fleet . The Commander , Mine Forces , Atlantic was responsible for all Fleet minecraft operations . Units under his command were divided into Minesweeping Squadrons ( MineRon ) s . Between 1947 and 1985 , the fleet command was a concurrent appointment with the United States Atlantic Command . The Commander - in - Chief Atlantic Fleet ( CINCLANTFLT ) was traditionally a Navy four - star admiral who also then held the positions of Commander - in - Chief United States Atlantic Command ( CINCLANT ) and NATO ' s Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic ( SACLANT ) . But after a major reorganization of the U . S . armed forces structure following the Goldwater - Nichols Act of 1986 , CINCLANFLT was separated from the two other billets . The admiral commanding the Atlantic Fleet was designated as the Deputy Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command until 1986 . Major crises the Atlantic Fleet was involved in during the Cold War included the 1965 United States occupation of the Dominican Republic and the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 . The general purpose forces of the Army , Navy , and Air Force began to be reorganized in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis on 16 October 1962 . The command organization , as finally developed , called for the Commander in Chief , Atlantic ( CINCLANT ) , Admiral Robert Dennison , to provide the unified command . He also retained control of all naval components involved in tactical operations , as the Commander - in - Chief , Atlantic Fleet . The responsibility for Army and Air Force components was assigned to the Continental Army Command ( CONARC ) and the Tactical Air Command under the designation of Army Forces , Atlantic ( ARLANT ) , and Air Forces , Atlantic ( AFLANT ) . The commander of the Army XVIII Airborne Corps was designated Joint Task Force Commander to plan for any joint operations that might become necessary . Over - all direction was exercised by the President and the Secretary of Defense through the Joint Chiefs of Staff , who named the Chief of Naval Operations as their representative for the quarantine . Major elements of the Strategic Army Corps were designated for use by ARLANT and placed in advanced alert status . Logistic support for the more than 100 , 000 men involved was directed by a newly established Peninsula Base Command . Preparatory steps were taken to make possible the immediate callup of high priority Army National Guard and Army Reserve units . U . S . Air Force air support for the ground forces was provided by Tactical Air Command , which moved hundreds of tactical fighter , reconnaissance , and troop carrier aircraft to the southeast . To make room for all these units , the bombers , tankers , and other aircraft not required for the current operations were ordered to other bases in the United States . From the late 1960s , nuclear ballistic missile submarines of the fleet began to make thousands of deterrent patrols . The first patrol in the Atlantic Fleet area of operations was made by USS George Washington ( SSBN - 598 ) . Commander , Naval Surface Forces Atlantic was formed on 1 July 1975 , incorporating a number of previous separate smaller commands - mine warfare vessels / units , service vessels , and frigates , destroyers and cruisers , along with associated destroyer squadrons and cruiser / destroyer groups . As part of a reorganization announced in July 1995 of the Atlantic Fleet ' s surface combatant ships into six core battle groups , nine destroyer squadrons , and a new Western Hemisphere Group , USS " John Hancock " was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 24 . The re - organization was to be phased in over the summer and take effect 31 August 1995 , with homeport shifts occurring through 1998 . In September 1995 the following ship assignments were intended to apply at the end of the transitional period : 2000s . On 1 October 2001 , the Chief of Naval Operations designated Commander - in - Chief , Atlantic Fleet ( CINCLANTFLT ) as concurrent Commander , Fleet Forces Command . In October – November 2002 , the title of Commander in Chief , Atlantic Fleet was discontinued and the title of Commander , U . S . Atlantic Fleet ( COMLANTFLT ) was established . In the CNO Guidance for 2003 , Admiral Vernon Clark stipulated that the terms Carrier Battle Group and Amphibious Readiness Group would be replaced by Carrier Strike Group s ( CSG ) and Expeditionary Strike Group s ( ESGs ) , respectively , by March 2003 . Cruiser - Destroyer ( CRUDESGRU ) and Carrier Groups ( CARGRU ) were also redesignated , as Carrier Strike Groups ( CSG ) , and aligned directly under the numbered fleet commanders . CARGRU and CRUDESGRU staffs were formerly under the administrative authority of their respective air and surface type commanders ( TYCOM ) . This realignment allowed key operational leaders authority and direct access to the personnel required to more effectively accomplish the Navy ’ s mission . All carrier strike groups are ultimately subordinate to Fleet Forces Command . The numbered fleet commanders are now responsible for the training and certification of the entire Strike Group . The organizational structure to support the Carrier Strike Groups focuses more on placing Strike Group commanders under the authority of the certifying officer , or the numbered fleet commander . Under this new division of responsibility , the air - side type commander gains authority over the air wing , and the surface - side type commander gains authority over the carrier itself and the rest of the ships of the battle group . On 23 May 2006 , the Chief of Naval Operations renamed COMLANTFLT to Commander , U . S . Fleet Forces Command ( COMUSFLTFORCOM ) , ordered to carry out the missions currently performed by COMFLTFORCOM and serve as primary advocate for fleet personnel , training , requirements , maintenance , and operational issues , reporting administratively directly to the CNO as an Echelon 2 command . The previous title CFFC was disestablished at the same time . CUSFFC previously served as the Naval component of US Joint Forces Command ( USJFCOM ) until the disestablishment of USJFCOM in August 2011 . CFFC is also assigned as the supporting service component commander to Commander , United States Northern Command ( USNORTHCOM ) as well as to Commander , United States Strategic Command ( USSTRATCOM ) . " Enterprise " entered an ESRA in 2008 , but the refit took longer than expected . Thus on 11 September 2009 , it was announced that the carrier strike group deployment schedule would be changed to accommodate the delay in the return of the " Enterprise " from its current overhaul . This resulted in extending both Carrier Strike Group Eleven ' s 2009 - 2010 deployment and Carrier Strike Group Ten ' s 2010 deployment to eight months . " Enterprise " returned to Naval Station Norfolk on 19 April 2010 after completing its post - overhaul sea trials , signifying the beginning of its pre - deployment training cycle . On 24 July 2009 , Admiral John C . Harvey , Jr . relieved Admiral Jonathan W . Greenert as Commander . 2010s . News reports in July 2011 said that in connection with the disestablishment of the United States Second Fleet , Fleet Forces Command would take over Second Fleet ' s duties on September 30 , 2011 . Effectively this meant Task Force 20 ( TF 20 ) , under a deputy commander of the fleet , took over that mission . Task Force 20 was succeeded by Task Force 80 effective 1 October 2012 , with TF - 80 being under the command of the director of the Maritime Headquarters , Fleet Forces Command . Organization c . 2013 . According to the executive summary of the Commander ' s vision and guidance of October 2012 , U . S . Fleet Forces Command is based upon the three tenets of war - fighting , forward operations , and readiness as set forth in the " Navigation Plan 2013 - 2017 " guidance from the Chief of Naval Operation . To achieve these objectives , Fleet Forces Command was realigned to a Maritime Operations Center ( MOC ) and Maritime Headquarters ( MHQ ) command structure . Additionally , the Commander , U . S . Fleet Forces Command ( COMUSFLTFORCOM ) is designated as the Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander North ( JFMCC - N ) to the U . S . Northern Command . Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander North consists of two Maritime Command Elements ( MCE ) , with Maritime Command Element - East ( MCE - E ) being Task Force 180 and Maritime Command Element - West ( MCE - W ) provided from units assigned to the U . S . Pacific Fleet . Effective 17 May 2013 , Commander , U . S . Fleet Forces Command was officially designated as the naval component commander for the U . S . Northern Command . < ref name = DNS - 33 / 13U102246 > < / ref > In this new capacity , the Commander , U . S . Fleet Forces Command is to contribute to the defense of North America through the coordination , collaboration , and communication with allied , coalition , and joint forces within the U . S . Northern Command ' s area of responsibility . Under this reorganization , the Commander , Navy Installations Command is responsible for area coordination for U . S . Naval Forces Northern Command . Additionally , Commander , Navy Region Mid - Atlantic is responsible for regional coordination for U . S . Naval Forces Northern Command . Maritime Operations Center . The Maritime Operations Center is to be the lead agency for all phases of the pre - deployment fleet response training plan ( FRTP ) cycle involving those naval units assigned to the Fleet Forces Command . In essence , the MOC is responsible for the transition of all naval units from their operational phase to their tactical phase prior to their overseas deployment . The director of the Maritime Operations Center is an active - duty two - star rear admiral in the U . S . Navy while the deputy of the Maritime Operations Center is a one - star rear admiral from the United States Naval Reserve . As of 2013 , the MOC director was Rear Admiral Philip S . Davidson . The Maritime Operations Center is organized into the following directorates : Other agencies under the command of the The Maritime Operations Center includes Fleet Marines , religious programs , fleet safety , and the fleet surgeon . Maritime Headquarters . The Maritime Headquarters ( MHQ ) is the lead agency for all phases prior to the pre - deployment training cycle , including resourcing , policy development , assessment , procurement , and pre - introduction of naval units assigned to the Fleet Forces Command . In essence , the MHQ is responsible for the transition of all naval units from their strategical phase to their operational phase prior to their pre - deployment training cycle , and in the capacity , it supports the Maritime Operations Center . The director of the Maritime Headquarters is an active - duty two - star rear admiral in the U . S . Navy while the deputy of the Maritime Headquarters is a one - star rear admiral from the United States Naval Reserve . As of 2013 , the MHQ director was Rear Admiral Bradley R . Gehrke . The Maritime Headquarters is organized into the following directorates : Subordinate commands . U . S . Fleet Forces Subordinate Commands include the following : Type commands . All ships are organized into categories by type . Aircraft carriers , aircraft squadrons , and air stations are under the administrative control of the appropriate Commander Naval Air Force . Submarines come under the Commander Submarine Force . All other ships fall under Commander Naval Surface Force . Type commands for Fleet Forces Command include : Task forces . Functional mission task forces execute force - wide Fleet logistic functions as well as providing capabilities for Joint contingency operations . These functional mission task forces include : Joint operations task forces . When constituted as a joint - service task force for Joint warfare operations , functional mission task forces for the U . S . Fleet Forces Command are give a 18X designation as shown below . Additionally , in the event of an emergency sortie to protect Fleet assets and capabilities , Task Force 183 is designated as Task Force 883 .