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 Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. Its area of responsibility encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles, and includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. It shares a commander and headquarters with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) in Bahrain. Fifth Fleet/NAVCENT is a component command of, and reports to, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
USS Mount Whitney is one of two Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ships of the United States Navy and is the flagship and command ship of the United States Sixth Fleet. USS Mount Whitney also serves as the Afloat Command Platform (ACP) of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO). The ship had previously served for years as the COMSTRIKFLTLANT(NATO Designation) / US Second Fleet's command ship. She is one of only a few commissioned ships to be assigned to Military Sealift Command.
United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the United States Fifth Fleet and several other subordinate task forces, including Combined Task Force 150, Combined Task Force 158 and others.
Michelle Janine Howard is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who last served as the commander of the United States Naval Forces Europe, United States Naval Forces Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples. She previously was the 38th Vice Chief of Naval Operations. She assumed her last assignment on June 7, 2016.
Expeditionary Strike Group 3 is an expeditionary strike group (ESG) of the U.S. Navy. Expeditionary strike groups combine the capabilities of surface action groups, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft with those of Amphibious Ready Groups for deployment and maintaining staff proficiencies to provide fleet commanders with a highly flexible, ready fly-away unit. It is capable of projecting expeditionary striking power in the maritime, littoral, and inland environs in support of U.S. national interests.
Mark William Balmert is retired United States Navy rear admiral. His last command was the joint Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Strike Group 3. He retired from the Navy in 2008 and joined Northrop Grumman as a Strategic Senior Consulting Manager.
In the United States Navy, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) is a coordinated group of surface ships, aircraft, submarines, and other naval assets. In contrast to carrier strike groups (CSGs), which emphasize air power and are led by a supercarrier, ESGs are strongly suited for amphibious warfare and are led by an amphibious assault ship. The ESG concept was introduced in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields nine expeditionary strike groups.
Herbert Fairfax Leary was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of vice admiral. A son of Rear Admiral Richard P. Leary, he distinguished himself during World War I while on the staff of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in Europe under Admiral William Sims and received the Navy Cross, the United States Navy's second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat.
A ship's company or complement comprises all officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel aboard a naval vessel, excluding civilians and guests.
Carol M. Pottenger is a retired United States Navy flag officer. She was among the first women to be assigned to serve at sea in 1978, the first female admiral to command a major combat organization, Amphibious Force 7th Fleet/Expeditionary Strike Group Seven, encompassing the amphibious forces assigned to the western Pacific; and the first female admiral to lead a combatant force "type command", Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, charged with the manning, training and equipping of over 40,000 expeditionary sailors in preparation for combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as global security assistance operations. Her final naval post was with NATO as deputy chief of staff for capability and development at Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Norfolk, Virginia, the first female officer to hold this position.
Nora Wingfield Tyson is a retired United States Navy vice admiral. In 2015, she was installed as commander of the Third Fleet, making her the first woman to lead a United States Navy ship fleet. She retired from service in 2017. Tyson previously served as the commander of Carrier Strike Group Two, from July 29, 2010 to January 12, 2012; she was the first female commander of a United States Navy Carrier Strike Group. She then served as Vice Director of the Joint Staff beginning in February 2012. In July 2013 she was promoted to vice admiral and named as Deputy Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command.
Carrier Strike Group 6 was a United States Navy carrier strike group. Its last homeport was Naval Station Mayport at the mouth of the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, Florida. Fifty-one Rear Admirals served as Commander, Carrier Division/Group/Strike Group 6 from August 1944 until the command was deactivated in April 2007.
Carrier Strike Group 5, also known as CSG 5 or CARSTRKGRU 5, is the U.S. Navy carrier strike group assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet and permanently forward deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet. The Strike Group Flagship is the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) which also embarks Strike Warfare Commander, Carrier Air Wing Five and its nine squadrons. As of June 2015, CSG 5 includes three Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Destroyer Squadron Fifteen, which serves as the Sea Combat Commander and is responsible for seven assigned Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
Vice Admiral Emmett Hulcy Tidd was a flag officer of the United States Navy.
Jeffrey William Hughes is a United States Navy vice admiral who served as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development of the United States Navy from 2021 to 2024.
Kenneth R. Blackmon is a reserve United States Navy officer who has been serving as Vice Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command since October 1, 2023. In his civilian career, he is a Private Wealth Advisor with Ameriprise Financial, LLC in Voorhees, NJ.
Rear Admiral Cedric E. Pringle is a retired United States Navy officer and career Surface Warfare Officer who served as the 31st Commandant of the National War College. He served in this position from October 16, 2019 until July 2021, when he relinquished command to Air Force Brigadier General Jeffrey H. Hurlbert. As the commandant, Pringle was responsible for formulating academic policies, supervising curriculum planning, preparation, and ensuring excellence in classroom teaching. Prior to serving as Commandant, Pringle served as Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 3, from December 2017 to September 2019.
John Blackwelder Nowell Jr. is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy. Nowell assumed duties as the navy's 59th Chief of Naval Personnel on May 24, 2019. Nowell is a distinguished graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering and holds a Master of Science in Weapons Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.
James Adam Kirk is a retired United States Navy rear admiral and surface warfare officer who last served as the commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3 from November 18, 2022 to June 9, 2023. He previously served as a special assistant to the Commander, Naval Surface Force Pacific from June 2022 to November 2022; commander of Carrier Strike Group 15 from June 2021 to June 2022; deputy commander and chief of staff for Joint Warfare Center, Allied Command Transformation in Stavanger, Norway.
