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.
Harold Raynsford Stark was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II, who served as the 8th Chief of Naval Operations from August 1, 1939, to March 26, 1942.
Frank Friday Fletcher was a United States Navy admiral who served in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions as commander of navy forces at the Battle of Veracruz, Mexico. The Fletcher-class destroyer, the most produced class of United States Navy destroyers, was named after him. He was also the uncle of Frank Jack Fletcher, another U.S. Navy admiral who also received the Medal of Honor for actions at Veracruz, and who commanded American naval forces at the battles of Coral Sea and Midway during World War II.
William Harrison Standley was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1933 to 1937. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1941 until 1943.
William Morrow Fechteler was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower administration.
James Otto Richardson was an admiral in the United States Navy who served from 1902 to 1947.
Kurt Walter Tidd is a retired United States Navy admiral. He last served as the Commander, United States Southern Command. Prior to that assignment, Tidd served as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as the Director for Operations, Joint Staff (J-3) from 2012 to 2013, and as Commander, United States Naval Forces Southern Command and United States Fourth Fleet from August 5, 2011, to June 22, 2012. Confirmed by the Senate on December 16, 2015, Tidd received his fourth star and succeeded John F. Kelly as commander of United States Southern Command on January 14, 2016. Tidd held the title of "Old salt", which means he received his qualification for Surface Warfare before any other active-duty navy officer. He passed said title to Admiral Philip S. Davidson upon his retirement. Upon the May 30, 2018, retirement of his United States Naval Academy classmate, Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., Tidd also gained the honorific of "Old Goat" – the longest-serving Naval Academy graduate on active duty. Harris presented Tidd with the Old Goat decanter in a ceremony on April 11, 2018.
The Commander, Naval Surface Force, Atlantic (COMNAVSURFLANT) is the Surface Force Type Commander (TYCOM) under the United States Fleet Forces Command. As Naval Surface Force Atlantic, it is a military formation, and the organization is often known as SURFLANT. Its headquarters are at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia. The current commander is Rear Admiral Joseph F. Cahill III. COMNAVSURFLANT supervises all surface ships based on the Eastern United States and Gulf Coast of the United States, as well as ships forward deployed to Naval Station Rota, Spain.
John Collins Harvey Jr. is a former United States Navy four-star admiral who last served as the 31st Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command from July 24, 2009 to September 14, 2012. He previously served as Director, Navy Staff (N09B) from March 24, 2008 to July 23, 2009. Prior to that, he served as the 54th Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (N1) from November 2005 to April 2008. He retired from the navy after more than 39 years of service.
Kinnaird Rowe McKee was an American United States Navy four star admiral who served as Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion from 1982 to 1988. He also served as Superintendent, United States Naval Academy from 1975 to 1978.
Raymond A. Spicer is chief executive officer of the United States Naval Institute and a retired rear admiral of the United States Navy.
Admiral Frederick Joseph Horne was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy. As the first Vice Chief of Naval Operations, he directed all Navy logistics during World War II.
Samuel Perez Jr. is a retired rear admiral in the United States Navy.
Derwood Clayiborne Curtis is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy who served as the Commander, Naval Surface Forces and concurrently Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet from March 2008 to June 2011.
Bernard Lige Austin was a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy. His career included service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War and command of submarines and surface ship forces, during which he became a distinguished combat commander of destroyers. He also commanded the United States Second Fleet, held numerous diplomatic, educational, and administrative staff positions, and a served a lengthy tour of duty as President of the Naval War College.
John Ashby Baldwin Jr. is a retired vice admiral of the United States Navy active during much of the Cold War. He commanded destroyers and a carrier battle group, saw service in the Vietnam War, served on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of Defense, and was President of the Naval War College and of the National Defense University.
James R. Stark is a retired rear admiral of the United States Navy who served during the Cold War and in the Vietnam War and oversaw operations related to the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. A surface warfare officer, his career included command of ships at sea, senior U.S. Navy and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands, staff assignments with the Chief of Naval Operations and the National Security Council, and a tour as President of the Naval War College.
Ted N. "Twig" Branch retired as a vice admiral in the United States Navy on 1 October 2016, after serving the last three years of his 37-year career as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for information warfare. In that capacity, he was the resource sponsor for the N2N6 portfolio which includes program investments for assured command and control, battlespace awareness, and integrated fires. He was the Navy's Chief Information Officer, the Director of Navy Cybersecurity, the leader of the Information Warfare Community, and the Director of Naval Intelligence. Branch was questioned by the Department of Justice regarding the Glenn Defense Marine Asia investigation in November 2013 and his access to classified information was suspended by the Secretary of the Navy. After a three-year investigation, Branch was cleared of all charges.
Michael Martin Gilday is a retired United States Navy officer who last served as the 32nd chief of naval operations from August 22, 2019 to August 14, 2023. Gilday commanded two destroyers, served as Director of the Joint Staff, commanded the Tenth Fleet/Fleet Cyber Command, and led Carrier Strike Group 8.
Admiral Lisa Marie Franchetti is a United States Navy admiral who has been the (33rd) chief of naval operations, and due to having that position, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, since November 2, 2023. She is the first woman to be chief of naval operations, and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
