Commander , Naval Surface Forces Atlantic Commander , Naval Surface Forces , Atlantic ( COMNAVSURFLANT ) is a post within the United States Fleet Forces Command . As Naval Surface Forces , Atlantic , it is a military formation , but the organization is often known as COMNAVSURFLANT . Its headquarters are at the Norfolk Naval Base , Norfolk , Virginia . The commander , as of August 2010 , was Rear Admiral David M . Thomas Jr . NAVSURFLANT supervises all surface ships based on the Eastern United States and Gulf Coast of the United States . Overview . Naval Surface Force Atlantic is one of the U . S . Navy type commands . It consists of more than 70 ships , 25 separate organizations , and 25 , 000 personnel . The command was created on 1 July 1975 by the consolidation of the previous Commander , Amphibious Forces , Atlantic Fleet ( COMPHIBLANT ) , Commander , Cruiser - Destroyer Forces , Atlantic Fleet ( COMCRUDESLANT ) , Commander , Service Forces , Atlantic Fleet ( COMSERVLANT ) , and Commander , Minesweeping Force , Atlantic Fleet . The Destroyer Force , Atlantic Fleet , was established after the First World War . The Force was redesignated as Destroyer Squadron , Atlantic , on October 1 , 1921 ; later to be redesignated again as Destroyer Squadron , Scouting Fleet , U . S . Fleet , on December 8 , 1922 . With the change in designations in the Fleet , the destroyers were established as Destroyer Squadron , Scouting Force , U . S . Fleet . From October 1 , 1937 , to July 3 , 1940 , units of this squadron were transferred continually to the Pacific Fleet . The outbreak of war in Europe reversed this trend . On July 3 , 1940 , there were again enough destroyers in the Atlantic to establish a type command , which became known as Destroyers , Atlantic Squadron , U . S . Fleet . When in November 1940 , the Atlantic Squadron became the Patrol Force ; the destroyer command was renamed Destroyers , Patrol Force , U . S . Fleet . On February 3 , 1941 , with the reorganization of the Navy and the dissolution of the Patrol Force ; the U . S . Atlantic Fleet formed and Destroyers , Atlantic Fleet came into being . On 1 April 1962 , the Cruiser - Destroyer Force , Atlantic ( CruDesLant ) , was formed by the merger of the former cruiser and destroyer type commands . , the former DesLant flagship , became the CruDesLant flagship . COMCRUDESLANT was originally headquartered at Naval Station Newport , RI , but transferred to Norfolk in the early 1970s . Previously , Commander , Service Forces , Atlantic Fleet ( COMSERVLANT ) , referred to both the U . S . Navy officer serving in that appointment which was extant from before World War II to 1975 , and the command he headed , Service Forces , Atlantic Fleet ( SERVLANT ) . He was the commander of all Atlantic Fleet " service " - type ships , such as oilers , tankers , ammunition ships , reefer ships , cargo ships , supply ships , repair ships , and the like . These ships were non - combatant and were intended only to support the warships as they required supplies . ComServLant was a very large organization during World War II , and its sub - units were termed Service Squadrons ( ServRon s ) . From the late 1970s more and more service ships were transferred to Military Sealift Command ; for example was transferred to MSC in January 1980 . Amphibious Forces , Atlantic Fleet ( PHIBLANT ) , came under the command of Rear Admiral Jerauld Wright on November 24 , 1948 . He held it until November 1 , 1950 . Based at the Norfolk Naval Station , Wright was responsible for three major subordinate commands , Amphibious Group 2 , Amphibious Group 4 ( commanded by Eugene B . Fluckey from October 1960 to November 1961 ) and the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek . COMPHIBLANT also included Amphibious Training , an Amphibious Air Control Group , a Naval Beach Group , a Detached Group , and a Mediterranean Group . Wright ' s flagship was the USS " Taconic " ( AGC - 17 ) , an " Adirondack " - class amphibious force command ship . The most significant accomplishment during Wright ' s tour of duty as COMPHIBLANT was PORTREX , a multi - service amphibious assault exercise held from February 25 to March 11 , 1950 . PORTREX was the largest peacetime amphibious exercise up to that time and it was staged to evaluate joint doctrine for combined operations , test new equipment under simulated combat conditions and provide training for the defense of the Caribbean . Amphibious Group 4 later took part in operations in the Dominican Republic in 1965 . In April 1994 , Commander , Destroyer Squadron 6 ( COMDESRON 6 ) changed homeport to Pascagoula , Mississippi and subsequently was dual hatted as Commander , Naval Surface Group Pascagoula . In January 1996 , as a result of an Atlantic Fleet reorganization , Commander , Naval Surface Group Pascagoula was renamed Commander , Regional Support Group Pascagoula . As part of a reorganization announced in July 1995 of the U . S . 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 . At the end of the transitional period , the following ship assignments were to apply : Western Hemisphere Group ( WESTHEMGRU ) was established in September 1995 and eventually supervised Destroyer Squadron 6 and Destroyer Squadron 14 as well as a Coast Guard squadron . ( FAS . org , GlobalSecurity . org ) It was intended to build expertise on the Caribbean and Central / South America . In April 1998 , as the result of yet another reorganization , COMDESRON 6 shifted operational control to Commander , Western Hemisphere Group , and was redesignated as a Tactical Squadron . Around 1998 , the squadron included " Hall " , " Ticonderoga " , and " Yorktown " . In December 1999 , COMDESRON 6 was redesignated as a Tactical / Readiness Squadron under the operational control of Commander , Naval Surface Group 2 . At one point , the composition of Destroyer Squadron 6 included FFG - 16 at Mayport , FFG - 22 at Charleston , SC , at Charleston , SC , FFG 15 at Norfolk , and FFG 20 and FFG 21 at Pascagoula . Commander Naval Surface Group Two was established 18 February 2000 and Western Hemisphere Group was disestablished the same day . Effective 1 October 2001 , the U . S . Navy designated a " Lead - Follow " arrangement among its type commands wherein one type commander was designated the senior lead for the specific " type " of weapon system ( i . e . , naval aviation , submarine warfare , surface warships ) throughout the entire operating U . S . Fleet as it pertains to modernization needs , training initiatives , and operational concept development . From that date , these designated fleet TYCOM commanders were to provide guidance to their respective " type " forces via the lead - follow TYCOM arrangement . The Commander , Naval Surface Force , U . S . Pacific Fleet ( COMNAVSURFPAC ) was designated as the Commander , Naval Surface Forces ( COMNAVSURFOR ) for the U . S . Fleet Forces Command , with the Commander , Naval Surface Force Atlantic ( COMNAVSURFLANT ) , serving as his deputy . COMNAVSURFOR is responsible for modernization needs , training initiatives , and operational concept development for the surface warfare community throughout the U . S . Navy ' s operational fleet . It appears that as a result , the COMNAVSURFLANT post was lowered to a Rear Admiral ' s post instead of the previous Vice Admiral .