Service Force, United States Pacific Fleet , usually known as COMSERVPAC, was a service support command of the United States Pacific Fleet from 1942 until 1973. It was the reincarnation of the former Base Force. The Service Force comprised the supply train of the fleet which includes Oilers (AO), Gasoline Tanker (AOG), Repair Ships (AR), Ammunition Ships (AE), Destroyer Tenders (AD) and Submarine tenders (AS).
Service forces under the ComServPac were known as ServPac or SERVPAC.
From 1942, the early Service Force was organized around four squadrons: Two, Four, Six, and Eight. [1]
In March 1942 the name was changed to Service Forces Pacific Fleet. Headquarters had already moved ashore from the USS Argonne (AS-10) to the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, and later moved again to the new administration building of the Commander in Chief Pacific, in the Makalapa area outside the navy yard.
In 1973 cruisers, destroyers, amphibious ships, mine warfare vessels, and service ships in the Pacific Fleet all came under the command of Commander, Naval Surface Force Pacific. The ships of the modern day equivalent of the service force have gradually transferred from Naval Surface Force Pacific to the Military Sealift Command's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force.
In 1984, Service Group 1 and Service Squadron 3 on the West Coast had a total of fifteen ships assigned (2 AFS, 2 AOE, 3 AOR, 1 AR, 7 AE). In addition, Service Squadron 5 at Pearl Harbor had another 2 ARS and 2 ATS. [3]
By 1987, Service Squadron 3 had been disestablished and there were a total of fourteen service ships on the West Coast, plus five more in Service Squadron 5. By 2012, the Military Balance listed 5 Sacramento class fast combat support ships and Supply-class oilers (AOE) in regular U.S. Navy service, but 42 vessels in the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force.
Former Commanders, Base Force, Pacific Fleet
Former Commanders, Service Force, Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii, with large secondary facilities at Naval Air Station North Island, California.
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. 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 since the early 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.
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Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, commonly known as Admiral Kelly Turner, served in the United States Navy during World War II, and is best known for commanding the Amphibious Force during the campaign across the Pacific. Admiral Turner was responsible for the creation of the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) that were an early precursor to the United States Navy SEALs.
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USS Cascade (AD-16), the only ship of its class, was a destroyer tender in the United States Navy.
USS Holland (AS-3) was a submarine tender that served in the United States Navy before and during World War II. Holland was launched by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington on 12 April 1926, sponsored by Miss Elizabeth Saunders Chase, daughter of Admiral J. V. Chase, and commissioned on 1 June. Stationed at San Diego, California, tending submarine divisions there with periodic tours to Panama to service submarines based at the Canal Zone pre-World War two. Later serving in the Pacific theatre, by close of hostilities having given 55 instances of refit to submarines, provided repair and service to 20 surface craft and completed various jobs on shore installations.
USS Argonne (AP-4/AS-10/AG-31) was a Design 1024 cargo ship built under United States Shipping Board contract by the International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog Island, Pennsylvania, for the United States Department of War. Named Argonne for the U.S. Army's Meuse-Argonne campaign in World War I, she was completed in 1920, delivered to the War Department in December 1920, laid up in February 1921, and loaned to the Navy on 3 November 1921. Accepted preliminarily by the Navy on that date, she was commissioned as Argonne on 8 November 1921 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The ship was permanently transferred to the Navy 6 August 1924 by Executive Order.
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Rear Admiral William Francis Petrovic was a preeminent naval engineer and ship builder in the United States Navy, serving from 1935 to 1972.
Commander, Naval Surface Force Pacific (COMNAVSURFPAC) is a United States Navy vice admiral, who leads the Naval Surface Force, United States Pacific Fleet. The commander is also designated as commander, Naval Surface Force (COMNAVSURFOR), a "dual hat", who serves as the Navy's Lead for the Surface Warfare Enterprise. From 1978 to 1987, and probably later, the headquarters has been located at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Coronado, California.
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