Commodore is a senior naval rank used in many navies which is equivalent to brigadier or brigadier general and air commodore. It is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. It is either regarded as the most junior of the flag officers rank or may not hold the jurisdiction of a flag officer at all depending on the officer's appointment. Non-English-speaking nations commonly use the rank of flotilla admiral, counter admiral, or senior captain as an equivalent, although counter admiral may also correspond to rear admiral lower half abbreviated as RDML.
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general or divisional general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral.
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.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a scientific agency overseen by the Department of Commerce. The NOAA Corps is made up of scientifically and technically trained officers. The NOAA Corps and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are the only U.S. uniformed services that consist only of commissioned officers, with no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The NOAA Corps' primary mission is to monitor oceanic conditions, support major waterways, and monitor atmospheric conditions.
The several branches of the United States Armed Forces are represented by flags. Within the U.S. military, various flags fly on various occasions, and on various ships, bases, camps, and military academies.
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.
The jack of the United States, referred to as the Union Jack by the U.S. Navy, is a maritime jack flag flown on the bow of U.S. vessels that are moored or anchored. In addition to commissioned U.S. Navy ships, the jack is used by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Military Sealift Command, the ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other U.S. government entities. While anchored or moored, the jack is flown on the bow of a ship, and the ensign is flown on the stern. Once under way, the jack is lowered.
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) is a joint task force of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). It originated under Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA) as part of the United States response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
David L. Brewer is a retired vice admiral of the United States Navy and former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The 35-year veteran of the Navy was the captain of USS Mount Whitney from April 3, 1991 – December 5, 1992, commanded Military Sealift Command from August 2001 until his retirement in March 2006, and served as Vice Chief of Naval Education and Training from 1999 to 2001. As Vice Chief of Naval Education and Training, he is known for helping to develop the Navy College Program and negotiating contracts with 11 colleges, universities and community colleges to provide bachelor and associate degree programs to more than 300,000 sailors. As Commander of Military Sealift Command, he is known for overseeing the massive Military Sealift Command (MSC) partnership with the private sector shipping contractors operation in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom which involved moving over 20,000,000 square feet (1,900,000 m2) of equipment to the Persian Gulf in less than four months. He is also known for leading the Military Sealift Command's disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
Mark Howard Buzby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral who served as the Administrator of the United States Maritime Administration. He retired from the Navy in 2013 and joined Carnival Cruise Line's Safety & Reliability Review Board. Buzby was nominated to be MARAD Administrator in June 2017 by President Donald Trump, and confirmed to the position by the United States Senate on August 3, 2017. He resigned from the post on January 11, 2021, along with Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, to protest the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
USNS Apache (T-ATF-172) was a U.S. Navy Powhatan-class fleet ocean tugboat that was operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) from 1981 to 2022. She spent the bulk of her career in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Ann Elisabeth Rondeau is a retired United States Navy vice admiral. During her tenure in the navy, she received two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, and four Legion of Merit awards. Rondeau was the president of National Defense University and, after serving as the president of the College of DuPage, was chosen by United States Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer to be president of the Naval Postgraduate School in 2019.
Rear Admiral Wendi Bryan Carpenter is a retired United States Navy flag officer and naval aviator. She is also a past president of the State University of New York Maritime College.
Rear Admiral Thomas Kenneth Shannon (USN) is a retired naval officer. His final assignment was as commander of the US Navy Military Sealift Command.
Yvette Marie Davids is a United States Navy rear admiral. She is the first Hispanic American woman to command a Navy ship.
Robert Berry Chadwick II is a United States Navy rear admiral and surface warfare officer who served as the commander of Carrier Strike Group 9 from July 9, 2021 to June 2, 2023. He most recently served as the commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific from June 14, 2019 to June 18, 2021. Prior to that, Chadwick served as the 87th Commandant of Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy from June 2017 to June 2019, with tours as commander of Destroyer Squadron 21 from March 2015 to August 2016 and commanding officer of USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) from November 2010 to July 2011.
