United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet ( a military formation ) of the United States Navy . It is a permanently forward deployed force headquartered at U . S . Fleet Activities Yokosuka , in Yokosuka , Japan , with units positioned near Japan and South Korea . It is a component force of the United States Pacific Fleet . At present , it is the largest of the forward - deployed U . S . fleets , with 60 to 70 ships , 300 aircraft and 40 , 000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel . The Fleet has three major assignments : History . The Seventh Fleet was formed on 15 March 1943 in Brisbane , Australia , during World War II , under the command of Admiral Arthur S . " Chips " Carpender . It served in the South West Pacific Area ( SWPA ) under General Douglas MacArthur , and the Seventh Fleet commander also served as commander of Allied naval forces in the SWPA . Most of the ships of the Royal Australian Navy were also part of the fleet from 1943 to 1945 as part of Task Force 74 ( formerly the Anzac Squadron ) . The Seventh Fleet — under Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid — formed a large part of the Allied forces at the Battle of Leyte Gulf , the largest naval battle in history . After the end of the war , the 7th Fleet moved its headquarters to Qingdao , China . As laid out in Operation Plan 13 - 45 of 26 August 1945 , Kinkaid established five major task forces to manage operations in the Western Pacific : Task Force 71 , the North China Force with 75 ships ; Task Force 72 , the Fast Carrier Force , directed to provide air cover to the Marines going ashore and discourage with dramatic aerial flyovers any Communist forces that might oppose the operation ; Task Force 73 , the Yangtze Patrol Force with another 75 combatants ; Task Force 74 , the South China Force , ordered to protect the transportation of Japanese and Chinese Nationalist troops from that region ; and Task Force 78 , the Amphibious Force , charged with the movement of the III Marine Amphibious Corps to China . After the war , on 1 January 1947 , the Fleet ' s name was changed to Naval Forces Western Pacific . In late 1948 , the Fleet moved its principal base of operations to the Philippines , where the Navy , following the war , had developed new facilities at Subic Bay and an airfield at Sangley Point . Peacetime operations of the Seventh Fleet were under the control of Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet , Admiral Arthur E . Radford , but standing orders provided that , when operating in Japanese waters or in the event of an emergency , control would pass to Commander Naval Forces Far East , a component of General Douglas MacArthur ' s occupation force . On 19 August 1949 the force was designated as United States Seventh Task Fleet . On 11 February 1950 , just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War , the force assumed the name United States Seventh Fleet , which it holds today . Korean War . Seventh Fleet units participated in all major operations of the Korean and Vietnamese Wars . The first Navy jet aircraft used in combat was launched from a Task Force 77 ( TF 77 ) aircraft carrier on 3 July 1950 . The landings at Inchon , Korea were conducted by Seventh Fleet amphibious ships . The battleships , , and all served as flagship s for Commander , U . S . Seventh Fleet during the Korean War . During the Korean War , the Seventh Fleet consisted of Task Force 70 , a maritime patrol force provided by Fleet Air Wing One and Fleet Air Wing Six , Task Force 72 , the Formosa Patrol , Task Force 77 , and Task Force 79 , a service support squadron . Over the next decade the Seventh Fleet responded to numerous crisis situations including contingency operations conducted in Laos in 1959 and Thailand in 1962 . During September 1959 , in the autumn of 1960 , and again in January 1961 , the Seventh Fleet deployed multiship carrier task forces into the South China Sea . Although the Pathet Lao and North Vietnam ese supporting forces withdrew in each crisis , in the spring of 1961 their offensive appeared on the verge of overwhelming the pro - American Royal Laotian Army . Once again the fleet moved into Southeast Asian waters . By the end of April 1961 most of the Seventh Fleet was deployed off the Indochinese Peninsula preparing to initiate operations into Laos . The force consisted of the and carrier battle groups , antisubmarine support carrier , one helicopter carrier , three groups of amphibious ships , two submarines , and three Marine battalion landing teams . At the same time , shorebased air patrol squadrons and another three Marine battalion landing teams stood ready in Okinawa and the Philippines to support the afloat force . Although the administration of President John F . Kennedy already had decided against American intervention to rescue the Laotian government , Communist forces halted their advance and agreed to negotiations . The contending Laotian factions concluded a cease - fire on 8 May 1961 , but it lasted only a year . In June 1963 the Seventh Fleet held ' Flagpole ' 63 , ' a joint naval exercise with the Republic of Korea . Vietnam War . During the Vietnam War , Seventh 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 countermeasure operations in the coastal waterways of North Vietnam . Two years later , ships and aircraft of the Fleet evacuated thousands of U . S . citizens and refugees from South Vietnam and Cambodia as those countries fell to opposing forces . Between 1950 and 1970 , the U . S . Seventh Fleet was also known by the tongue - in - cheek nickname " Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club " . Most of the fleet ' s operations were conducted from the Tonkin Gulf at the time . The badge was unofficial but it quickly became very popular . Since Vietnam , the Seventh Fleet has participated in a joint / combined exercise called Team Spirit , conducted with the Republic of Korea armed forces . With capability to respond to any contingency , Fleet operations are credited with maintaining security during the Asian Games of 1986 and the Seoul Olympics of 1988 . During 1989 , Seventh Fleet units participated in a variety of exercises called PACEX , the largest peacetime exercises since World War II . Gulf War and 1990s . In response to the 2 August 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait , President George H . W . Bush ordered Commander , U . S . Seventh Fleet to assume additional responsibilities as Commander , U . S . Naval Forces Central Command . The Fleet Commander departed Yokosuka , Japan immediately , heading for the Persian Gulf , and joined the remainder of his staff aboard the flagship on 1 September 1990 . During Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm , Naval Forces Central Command exercised command and control of the largest U . S . Navy armada since the Second World War . At the peak of combat operations , over 130 U . S . ships joined more than 50 allied ships to conduct maritime intercept operations , minesweeping and combat strike operations against enemy forces in Iraq and Kuwait . Naval Forces Central Command included six aircraft carrier battle groups , two battleships ( " Missouri " and " Wisconsin " ) , two hospital ships , 31 amphibious assault ships , four minesweeping vessels and numerous combatants in support of allied air and ground forces . After a decisive allied victory in the Gulf War , Commander U . S . Seventh Fleet relinquished control of Naval Forces Central Command to Commander , Middle East Force on 24 April 1991 and returned to Yokosuka , Japan to resume his Asia - Pacific duties . In 1996 , two aircraft carrier battle groups were sent to the Taiwan Straits under Seventh Fleet control to demonstrate U . S . support for Taiwan during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis . The " Nimitz " battle group ( CCDG 5 ? ) made a high speed transit from the Persian Gulf , while Carrier Group Five , led by " Independence " , sortied from its Japanese homeports . Operations . Of the 50 - 60 ships typically assigned to Seventh Fleet , 18 operate from U . S . facilities in Japan and Guam . These forward - deployed units represent the heart of Seventh Fleet , and the centerpieces of American forward presence in Asia . They are 17 steaming days closer to locations in Asia than their counterparts based in the continental United States . It would take three to five times the number of rotationally - based ships in the U . S . to equal the same presence and crisis response capability as these 18 forward deployed ships . On any given day , about 50 % of Seventh Fleet forces are deployed at sea throughout the area of responsibility . Following the end of the Cold War , the two major military scenarios in which the Seventh Fleet would be used would be in case of conflict in Korea or a conflict between People ' s Republic of China and Taiwan ( Republic of China ) in the Taiwan Strait . It was reported on 10 May 2012 that would be dispatched to Singapore in the northern spring of 2013 for a roughly 10 - month deployment . On 2 June 2012 the U . S . and Singaporean Defense Ministers announced that Singapore has agreed ' in principle ' to the US request ' to forward deploy up to four littoral combat ships to Singapore on a rotational basis . ' Officials stressed however that vessels will not be permanently based there and their crews will live aboard during ship visits . Fleet organization . The Seventh Fleet is organized into specialized task force s . Task Force 70 — TF 70 the Battle Force of 7th Fleet and is actually made up of two distinct components : Surface Combatant Force 7th Fleet , composed of cruiser s and destroyer s , and Carrier Strike Force 7th Fleet , made up of at least one aircraft carrier and its embarked air wing . The Battle Force is currently centered around Carrier Strike Group Five , the carrier and Carrier Air Wing 5 ( CVW - 5 ) . Task Force 71 — TF 71 includes all Naval Special Warfare ( NSW ) units and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Units ( EODMU ) assigned to 7th Fleet . It is based in Guam . Task Force 71 was based in Fremantle , Western Australia in 1941 - 42 , operating submarines under Rear Admiral Charles A . Lockwood . He was relieved by Rear Admiral Ralph W . Christie on 7 March 1943 . During the first half of 1965 , the Seventh Fleet operationally controlled the Vietnam Patrol Force ( Task Force 71 ) , the American component of the Operation Market Time effort . The Naval Advisory Group , headquartered in Saigon , served as the liaison between the fleet , Commander U . S . Military Assistance Command , Vietnam , and the South Vietnamese Navy . On 31 July 1965 , formal control of the U . S . Operation Market Time force passed from the Seventh Fleet to the Naval Advisory Group , which in turn activated the Coastal Surveillance Force ( Task Force 115 ) . The fleet continued to provide logistic and administrative support . The command function was further refined on 1 April 1966 when Naval Forces , Vietnam , was established , relieving the Naval Advisory Group of responsibility for Market Time operations . Task Force 71 operated the Search and Rescue / Salvage Operations for Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shot down by the Soviets off Sakhalin Island on Sept . 1 , 1983 . On the day of the shootdown , Rear Admiral William A . Cockell , Commander , Task Force 71 , and a skeleton staff , taken by helicopter from Japan , embarked in USS Badger ( stationed off Vladivostock at time of the flight ) on 9 September for further transfer to the destroyer Elliot to assume duties as Officer in Tactical Command ( OTC ) of the Search and Rescue ( SAR ) effort . Surface search began immediately and on into the 13 day of September . U . S . underwater operations began on September 14 . No longer any hope of finding survivors , on September 10 , 1983 , Task Force 71 mission had been reclassified " Search and Salvage " operation from a " Search and Rescue " . On October 17 , 1983 , Rear Admiral William Cockell was relieved of command of the Task Force and its Search and Salvage mission , and Rear Admiral Walter T . Piotti , Jr . , was placed in command . There were three U . S . search and salvage ships involved — the Coast Guard cutter , the rescue salvage ship , and the Fleet Tug . There were also three Japanese tugs chartered through the U . S . Navy ’ s Far East Salvage Contractor ( Selco ) , these were the " Ocean Bull " , the " Kaiko - Maru 7 " , and the " Kaiko - Maru 3 " . Aside from these vessels , there were the U . S . naval combatants and logistical support ships . These were the , , , USNS " Hassayampa " , , , , , and the . In addition to the above ships , there were numerous Japanese Maritime Safety Agency patrol boats and South Korean vessels involved . Task Force 71 also used to fulfill the function of Command and Coordination Force , Seventh Fleet . The Seventh Fleet Command Ship is the , based at U . S . Fleet Activities Yokosuka , Yokosuka , Japan . In 2004 , " Blue Ridge " entered dry dock and the responsibility was transferred temporarily to . " Blue Ridge " returned to duty 27 September 2004 . Task Force 72 — TF 72 is the Patrol - Reconnaissance Force of the Seventh Fleet . It may be located at Naval Support Facility Kamiseya , Japan . It is mainly composed of anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) aircraft and maritime airborne surveillance platforms such as P - 3 Orion and EP - 3 reconnaissance planes operating on land bases . Toward the end of the Korean War , Commander Task Force 72 transferred his flag to on 7 March and detachments of VP - 42 also left USS " Salisbury Sound " for that seaplane tender . That same day Task Force Seventy - Two was established as the Formosa Patrol Force under Rear Admiral Williamson in Pine Island . Task Force 73 / Commander , Logistics Group Western Pacific — 7th Fleet ' s Logistics Force composed of supply ships and other fleet support vessels . Headquartered in Singapore . Task Force 74 — TF 74 was the designation used for the " Enterprise " battle group in 1971 . Today , it is the Fleet Submarine Force responsible for planning and coordinating submarine operations within 7th Fleet ' s area of operations . Task Force 75 — Designation of the Surface Combatant Force assigned to Seventh Fleet responsible for the cruisers and destroyers that are not assigned as escorts to aircraft carriers . Rear Admiral Rembrandt C . Robinson , U . S . Navy , at age 47 , was Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla Eleven and Commander , Cruiser Destroyer Group Vietnam , Seventh Fleet ( CTF 75 ) . Admiral Robinson was killed in a helicopter crash in the Gulf of Tonkin on May 8 , 1972 , during a late night landing approach to his flagship , the guided missile light cruiser USS Providence ( CLG - 6 ) . The Seventh Fleet ' s flagship used to be frequently a cruiser . This cruiser , for example USS " Oklahoma City " ( CG - 5 ) , would be assigned the designation of Task Group 70 . 1 when acting as fleet flagship and also act as part of Task Force 75 when carrying out Naval gunfire support . From 19 January 1981 to 22 January , USS Barbel and ( SSG - 574 ) participated in ASWEX 81 - 3U off the coast of the Philippines , an exercise in shallow water ASW . The submarines opposed the transit of the oiler USNS " Navasota " ( T - AO - 106 ) , which was escorted by the destroyer s ( CTF 75 embarked ) and , and frigate s , , , and through the narrow straits . Task Force 76 — Amphibious Assault task force mainly responsible for supporting Marine landing operations . It is composed of units capable of delivering ship - to - shore assault troops , such as " Tarawa " - class and Wasp " - class amphibious assault ship s , and landing craft . Rear Admiral Richard Landolt currently commands TF 76 . Task Force 77 — 7th Fleet Mine Warfare Force composed of mine countermeasure , mine hunter , and mine control ships as well as mine countermeasure helicopters ( MH - 53 ) . This task force is only activated during specific combat operations and was filled by the Commander of Mine Warfare Command . Mine Warfare Command has now been disestablished and replaced by Navy Mine and Antisubmarine Warfare Command , Naval Base Point Loma , Calif . Task Force 78 — In 1973 , Task Force 78 served as the mine clearance force that cleared Haiphong Harbour in Operation End Sweep . Major elements of the U . S . Navy mine warfare force , including Mobile Mine Command ( MOMCOM ) , Mine Warfare Support Group ( MWFSG ) , and HM - 12 were airlifted by C - 5A to NAS Cubi Point in the Philippines . These specialists formed the nucleus of Task Force 78 , under the command of Rear Admiral Brian McCauley , for Operation End Sweep . Commander , Mine Force , U . S . Atlantic Fleet had reported to Vice Admiral James L . Holloway III , Commander , Seventh Fleet , in September 1972 as Commander Task Force 78 . TF 78 was officially activated in November 1972 . However , it became clear more helicopters were needed . Responding to a Navy request for assistance , Commanding General , Fleet Marine Force Pacific ( CG FMFPAC ) directed that HMH - 463 deploy from MCAS Kaneohe Bay , Hawaii , to NAS Cubi Point , to join Task Force 78 . On 27 November 1972 , with the efficient support of Col Bill Crocker ' s MAG - 24 , HM - 463 embarked at Pearl Harbor aboard , which was en route from Norfolk to augment Seventh Fleet Amphibious Forces and to participate in End Sweep . The ceasefire was signed on 23 January 1973 , and the day afterwards , major components of TF 78 deployed from Subic Bay to Haiphong . These included four ocean minesweepers ( MSO ) , USS " Inchon " , and four amphibious ships , ' including two with docking capabilities to handle the minesweeping sleds towed by the CH - 53Ms . During the six months of Operation End Sweep , ten ocean minesweepers , nine amphibious ships , six fleet tugs , three salvage ships , and nineteen destroyers operated in Task Force 78 in the vicinity of Haiphong . ' As of 2010 , Commander Naval Forces Korea , an administrative liaison unit between USFK , the ROK Navy , and Seventh Fleet , has been assigned the TF 78 designation . Naval Forces Korea is headquartered at Yongsan and has a base at Chinhae , Commander Fleet Activities Chinhae . Task Force 79 — The Marine expeditionary unit or Landing Force assigned to the fleet , consisting of at least a reinforced Marine battalion and its equipment . This unit is separate from the Marine Expeditionary Unit ( MEU ) normally embarked in USS " Bonhomme Richard " Amphibious Readiness Group ( ARG ) . Marine units serving in 7th Fleet are normally drawn from III Marine Expeditionary Force based in Okinawa , Japan .