Task Force 80 Task Force 80 , abbreviated as TF - 80 , is the designation of several U . S . Navy task force s , with its current use associated with a major task force within the United States Fleet Forces Command headquartered at Naval Station Norfolk , Virginia . Historical antecedents . During World War Two , Task Force 80 was the designation for the Western Naval Task Force , under the command of Vice Admiral Henry K . Hewitt , USN , during the Allied invasion of Sicily and Salerno landings , the first sustained land assault and invasion of the European continent undertaken by the Allied powers . The Western Naval Task Force landed the U . S . Seventh Army under Lieutenant General George S . Patton , USA , on the southern coast of the island of Sicily on 10 July 1943 . This task force subsequently landed the U . S . Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark W . Clark , USA , in southern Italy near the seaport of Salerno on 9 September 1943 . After World War Two , Task Force 80 was the designation for a 1948 joint Navy - Coast Guard task force consisting of the s and , as well as the . This Task Force 80 resupplied weather stations at Thule , Greenland , and on Ellesmere Island while establishing a new weather station on the northern point of that island . Additionally , the ships performed reconnaissance for the establishment of additional weather stations , carried out cold - weather operations , tested equipment , and collected a variety of scientific data . Finally , Task Force 80 was the designation for the Naval Patrol and Protection of Shipping Force of the U . S . Atlantic Fleet during the Cold War and thereafter . This TF - 80 ' s mission was the coordination of the U . S . naval forces in order to protect merchant marine shipping from hostile action in the event of a theoretical third Battle of the Atlantic . Current usage . 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 command structure centered around a Maritime Operations Center and Maritime Headquarters . The Maritime Operations Center ( MOC ) is 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 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 . Consequently , effective 1 October 2012 , Task Force 20 was re - designated as Task Force 80 , a major task force within the U . S . Fleet Forces Command . TF - 80 serves as the designation for the Maritime Headquarters ( MHQ ) component for Fleet Forces Command , and it is organized into the following task groups . They are : Task Force 80 organizes its units in order to execute at - sea and other operational objectives conducted under command authority of the U . S . Navy . The commander of Task Force 80 is the director of the Maritime Headquarters staff , an active - duty two - star rear admiral . When constituted as a joint task force for multi - service operations with the U . S . Northern Command , Task Force 80 will be re - designated as Task Force 180 . TF - 180 ' s objective is to execute the Maritime Command Element ( MCE ) functions based on the U . S . eastern seaboard as directed by Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander North ( JFMCC - N ) who is also the Fleet Forces commander . Task Force 180 is supported in this task by applicable capabilities and assets provided from Fleet Operations Task Forces of the U . S . Fleet Forces Command when these fleet formations are acting as joint task forces . Other usage . Naval Task Force 80 is the rapid deployment force for the Philippine Navy , with the capability to meet any contingencies throughout the Philippine archipelago .