Naval Air Force Atlantic

Last updated
AirLant Logo CNAL.png
AirLant Logo

Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (a. k. a. COMNAVAIRLANT, AIRLANT, and CNAL) is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for the United States Naval aviation units operating primarily in the Atlantic under United States Fleet Forces Command. Type Commanders are in administrative control (ADCON), and in some cases operational control (OPCON) of certain types of assets (ships, submarines, aircraft, and fleet marines) assigned to the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. AIRLANT is responsible for the material readiness, administration, training, and inspection of units/squadrons under their command, and for providing operationally ready air squadrons and aircraft carriers to the fleet.

Contents

COMNAVAIRLANT is headquartered at Naval Support Activity, Hampton Roads. The staff is made up of approximately 650 officer, enlisted, civilian and contractor personnel.

Mission

"Support COMLANTFLT and other commanders by providing combat ready/sustainable naval air forces, trained and equipped in an environment which emphasizes safety, interoperability and efficient resource management."

History

Naval Air Force, US Atlantic Fleet was established on 1 January 1943, at NAS Norfolk, Virginia. The command was initially called Air Force, Atlantic Fleet and replaced three older organizations: Commander Carriers, Atlantic Fleet; Carrier Replacement Squadron, Atlantic Fleet; and Fleet Air Wings, Atlantic. AIRLANT's mission was to oversee logistics, maintenance and training of east coast aviation units, and to direct all World War II Atlantic operations not assigned to specific task forces. The combat mission consisted primarily of combating German U-boats, which were wreaking havoc on U.S. shipping support for the war effort in Europe. AIRLANT also contributed heavily to war in the Pacific by training Pacific Fleet units and deploying east coast units to the Pacific. In 1944 AIRLANT deployed 16 carriers, 20 carrier air groups, 67 carrier-based squadrons, 21 patrol squadrons and 18 aviation units to the Pacific. [1] On 30 July 1957, the command added "Naval" to its title.

An important subordinate command for a long period was Commander, Fleet Air Keflavik, at what was Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. [2] Naval aviation has always played a large role in the operations at Keflavik, especially with regard to the enormous build-up of the Soviet Navy. Deployment of patrol squadron detachments, and later entire squadrons, started as early as 1951, with the P-2 "Neptune" maritime patrol aircraft succeeded by the Lockheed P-3 "Orion" in the mid-1960s. In 1955, Barrier Force, Atlantic had been established in Argentia, Newfoundland, flying radar early-warning missions using the WV-2 (EC-121 Warning Star aircraft in the North Atlantic from 1957. These aircraft made frequent deployments to Keflavik. On July 1, 1961, Commander Barrier Force, Atlantic moved from Argentia to Keflavik. The duties of Commander, Iceland Defense Force were assumed by the rear admiral commanding Barrier Force Atlantic.

In October 2001, the Chief of Naval Operations placed Type Commanders in a "Lead-Follow" arrangement. Under this arrangement, COMNAVAIRPAC (AIRLANT's west coast counterpart) became TYCOM for all Naval Aviation, and assumed the additional title of Commander, Naval Air Forces (COMNAVAIRFOR). At that time, command of AIRLANT went from a 3-star/Vice Admiral to a 2-star Rear Admiral.

AirLant logo from 1943 to 2001 AirLant logo old.png
AirLant logo from 1943 to 2001

List of commanders

DatesCommander
1943RADM Alva D. Bernhard
1943–1946VADM Patrick N. L. Bellinger
1946–1948VADM Gerald F. Bogan
1948–1951VADM Felix B. Stump
1951–1954VADM John J. Ballentine
1954–1956VADM Frederick W. McMahon
1956–1960VADM William L. Rees
1960–1963VADM Frank O'Beirne
1963–1965VADM Paul H. Ramsey
1965–1969VADM Charles T. Booth
1969–1972VADM Robert L. Townsend
1972–1975VADM Frederick H. Michaelis
1975–1978VADM Howard E. Greer
1978–1981VADM George E.R. Kinnear II
1981–1983VADM Thomas J. Kilcline
1983–1983VADM Carol C. Smith, Jr.
1983–1986VADM Robert F. Dunn
1986–1989VADM Richard M. Dunleavy
1989–1991VADM John K. Ready
1991–1994VADM Anthony A. Less
1994–1996VADM Richard C. Allen
1996–1998VADM John J. Mazach
1998–2001VADM Joseph S. Mobley
2001–2002RADM Michael D. Malone
2002–2004RADM James M. Zortman
2004–2006RADM H. Denby Starling II
2006–2008RADM John W. Goodwin
2009–2010RADM Richard J. O'Hanlon
2010–2013RADM Ted N. Branch
2013–2015RADM Troy M. Shoemaker
2015–2016RADM John R. Haley
2016–2017RADM Bruce H. Lindsey
2017–2020RADM Roy J. Kelley
2020–2023RADM John F. Meier
2023–presentRADM Douglas C. Verissimo [3]

Subordinate Commands

Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet is composed of more than 40,000 men and women who maintain and operate the aircraft carriers, aircraft squadrons and aircraft of the Atlantic Fleet. It provides combat-ready air forces to fleet commanders operating around the globe.

Carrier Strike Groups

There are six Carrier Strike Group commanders who, although not under operational control of COMNAVAIRLANT, work very closely with the staff. CSG commanders are operationally responsible for the carrier, the embarked airwing and the cruisers that make up the battle group.

Aircraft Carriers

The nucleus of the surface battle group is the aircraft carrier. In the Atlantic Fleet, COMNAVAIRLANT has five carriers assigned to carry out the mission of COMLANTFLT and other commanders. One or two of these carriers are usually deployed with the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea or with the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf in support of U.S. Central Command. When not deployed or undergoing periodic maintenance/overhaul, or refresher training, these ships operate with United States Fleet Forces Command Task Force 80 in the Western Atlantic or U.S. Fourth Fleet in the Caribbean.

Carrier air wings

The carrier air wing commander is responsible for a number of squadrons whose missions include attack, fighter, patrol, reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare, electronic warfare and logistic support.

Type Wings

Type Wing commanders are individually responsible for major categories of aircraft squadrons. There are four single Navy wide Type Wing commanders for the Airborne Command & Control and Logistics (E-2C,D and C-2A), Electronic Attack (EA-18G), Joint Strike Fighter (F-35C) and Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission (CMV-22B) communities which report to Commander, Naval Air Forces who is dual hatted as Commander, Naval Air Forces U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic Fleet (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGLANT)

Commander, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, Atlantic Fleet (COMHSMWINGLANT)

  • HSM-40 Airwolves (FRS)
  • HSM-46 Grandmasters
  • HSM-48 Vipers (Expeditionary)
  • HSM-50 Valkyries (Expeditionary)
  • HSM-70 Spartans
  • HSM-72 Proud Warriors
  • HSM-74 Swamp Foxes
  • HSM-79 Griffins (Expeditionary) (Naval Station Rota, Spain)
  • Helicopter Maritime Strike Weapons School, Atlantic (HELMARSTRIKEWEPSCOLANT)
  • Naval Surface Rescue Swimmer School, NAS Jacksonville, FL
  • Aircraft Carrier Tactical Support Center (CV-TSC), NAS Jacksonville, FL
  • Aviation Support Detachment (ASD) Mayport, FL

Commander, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing, Atlantic Fleet (COMHELSEACOMBATWINGLANT)

  • HM-12 Sea Dragons (FRS)
  • HM-15 Blackhawks (Expeditionary)
  • HSC-2 Fleet Angels (FRS)
  • HSC-5 Nightdippers
  • HSC-7 Dusty Dogs
  • HSC-9 Tridents
  • HSC-11 Dragonslayers
  • HSC-22 Sea Knights (Expeditionary)
  • HSC-26 Chargers (Expeditionary)
  • HSC-28 Dragon Whales (Expeditionary)
  • Helicopter Sea Combat Weapons School, Atlantic (HSCWSL)

Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group (COMPATRECONGRU)

(Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group is dual hatted as Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group Pacific. S/He commands the Pacific Fleet Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing TEN under that hat)

  • VP-30 Pro's Nest (FRS)
  • Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Weapons School (MPRWS)
  • (PATRECONFORLANT DET AMPO Jacksonville)
  • Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11
  • Tactical Support Center (TSC), Rota
  • Tactical Support Center (TSC), Sigonella

Miscellaneous commands

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Pacific Fleet</span> US Navy theater-level component command

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fleet Forces Command</span> Service component command of the United States Navy

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fifth Fleet</span> Numbered fleet of the United States Navy

The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. 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).

A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-213</span> Military unit

Strike Fighter Squadron 213 (VFA-213) Blacklions is an aviation unit of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. It was established in 1955 and is currently equipped with the F/A-18F Super Hornet. The squadron is assigned to Carrier Air Wing Eight and uses the radio callsign Lion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station Jacksonville</span> United States Navy air base in Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station North Island</span> Naval Air Station in Northern Coronado Peninsula, San Diego County, California

Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island, at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NBC), and the home port of several aircraft carriers of the United States Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier air wing</span> Group of aircraft units operating from an aircraft carrier

A carrier air wing is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadrons and detachments of various types of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Organized, equipped and trained to conduct modern US Navy carrier air operations while embarked aboard aircraft carriers, the various squadrons in an air wing have different but complementary missions, and provide most of the striking power and electronic warfare capabilities of a carrier battle group (CVBG). While the CVBG term is still used by other nations, the CVBG in US parlance is now known as a carrier strike group (CSG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFA-101</span> Military unit

Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was a United States Navy Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) based at Eglin AFB, Florida. After the West Coast FRS for the F-14 Tomcat, VF-124, was disestablished in the mid-1990s, VF-101 became the sole F-14 FRS. At the time it was based at NAS Oceana in Virginia. With the retirement of the F-14, VF-101 was deactivated in 2005. It was reactivated in 2012 and redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101). It was one of two F-35C Lightning II FRS before being deactivated in 2019. It was based at Eglin AFB, Florida with the joint 33d Fighter Wing, as a subordinate unit of the U.S. Navy's Strike Fighter Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station Cecil Field</span>

Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HSM-77 Saberhawks</span> Military unit

Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven Seven (HSM-77) "Saberhawks" is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Facility, Atsugi, Japan. HSM-77 is attached to Carrier Air Wing Five and deploys aboard USS Ronald Reagan and air capable ships attached to Carrier Strike Group Five (CSG-5). The squadron was established as Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (Light) Forty Seven (HSL-47) on 25 September 1987 and was redesignated HSM-77 on 2 Apr 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Navy type commands</span>

U.S. Navy type commands perform administrative, personnel, and operational training functions in the United States Navy for a "type" of weapon system within a fleet organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander, Naval Air Forces</span> US Navy position

Commander, Naval Air Forces is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for all United States Navy naval aviation units. Type Commanders are in Administrative Control (ADCON), and in some cases Operational Control (OPCON) of certain types of assets assigned to the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. AIRFOR is responsible for the materiel readiness, administration, training, and inspection of units/squadrons under their command, and for providing operationally ready air squadrons and aircraft carriers to the fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VP-5</span> Patrol squadront of the US Navy

Patrol Squadron FIVE (VP-5) is a long-lived maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy. It is the second squadron to bear the VP-5 designation. VP-5 is the second oldest patrol squadron, the fourth oldest in the United States Navy, and the 33rd oldest squadron in the United States military. As of 2019, VP-5 is still active and is based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.

References

  1. Naval Aviation News January–February 1994
  2. GlobalSecurity.org, Commander Fleet Air Keflavik
  3. Ramos, J.G. Jacqueline (2023-08-17). "Naval Air Force Atlantic Welcomes New Commander". Naval Air Force Atlantic . Naval Air Force Atlantic Public Affairs. Retrieved 2023-08-22.