United States Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT) | |
---|---|
Active | 1983–present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Navy |
Type | Service component command |
Part of | United States Central Command |
Headquarters | Naval Support Activity Bahrain |
Website | www.cusnc.navy.mil |
Commanders | |
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command; Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Forces Maritime Component | VADM George Wikoff |
Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command | RDML Joshua Lasky |
Vice Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command | RDML Jeffrey A. Jurgemeyer |
United Kingdom Maritime Component Commander | Commodore Phillip Dennis, Royal Navy |
Command Master Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command; Command Master Chief, U.S. 5th Fleet. | CMDCM Christopher King |
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.
In February 2002 the Combined Maritime Forces was also established as an embedded activity to provide coordinated Coalition operations in the area of operations. It is an international naval partnership that provides security for civilian maritime traffic by conducting counter-piracy and counter-terrorism missions in the heavily trafficked waters of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, including the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and the wider Indian Ocean.[21]
CMF's personnel and ships are drawn from 40 nations[22] and are organised into four principal task forces:
After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Commander, Task Force 150, previously a single-nation U.S. formation, was made into a multinational effort as Combined Task Force 150 (HOA MIO Force), and was given a renewed focus on maritime security and counter-terrorism. It was established on 3 February 2002, by Vice Admiral Charles W. Moore.[27] Over time, it became increasingly involved in combating the rising incidence of piracy in Somalia.
Combined Task Force 151 was established in January 2009 by Vice Admiral William E. Gortney specifically to address counter-piracy operations.[28]
Operating alongside CTF 151 and Operation Ocean Shield are other national deployments such as the People's Liberation Army Navy, most recently with "CTF 526" aboard the Type 054 frigate Wenzhou (which had the hull number 526).
Combined Task Force 153 was established in April 2022 by Vice Admiral Brad Cooper with a mission of maritime security and capacity building efforts in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden. Captain Robert Francis was designated the first CTF-153 commander.[29]
No. | Commander | Term | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT) | ||||||
1 | Rear Admiral (lower half) Stanley R. Arthur (born 1935) | 1 January 1983 | 1987 | ~4 years, 0 days | Later served as the 5th NAVCENT commander from 1990 to 1991. | |
2 | Rear Admiral (lower half) Philip F. Duffy | 1987 | June 1990 | ~3 years, 151 days | Commander, Training Command, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (1990-1991) Retired, 1991. | |
3 | Captain Robert Sutton[34] (1942–2020) | June 1990 | August 1990 | ~61 days | Promoted to RDML in 1991; RADM in 1996 Commander, U.S. Naval Logistics Support Force (Task Force 150.3) (1990-1991) Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (Rear) (1991) Retired, 1999. | |
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT) and U.S. Seventh Fleet (C7F) | ||||||
4 | Vice Admiral Henry H. Mauz Jr.[35] (born 1936) | August 1990 | 1 December 1990 | ~122 days | Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Navy Program Planning (1990-1992)[36] Promoted to admiral, 1992. Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (1992-1994) Retired, 1994. | |
5 | Vice Admiral Stanley R. Arthur[37] (born 1935) | 1 December 1990 | 24 April 1991 | 144 days | Continued to command Seventh Fleet until July 1992 Promoted to admiral, 1992. Vice Chief of Naval Operations (1992-1995) Retired, 1995. | |
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT) | ||||||
6 | Rear Admiral Raynor A.K. Taylor[35] (1935–2013) | 24 April 1991 | 19 October 1992 | 1 year, 178 days | Retired, 1993. | |
7 | Vice Admiral Douglas J. Katz[35] | 19 October 1992 | September 1994 | ~1 year, 317 days | Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (1994-1997) Retired, 1997. | |
8 | Vice Admiral John Scott Redd[38] (born 1944) | September 1994 | 1 July 1995 | ~303 days | Director for Strategy, Plans and Policy, Joint Staff (1996-1998) Retired, 1998. | |
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT) and U.S. Fifth Fleet (C5F) | ||||||
8 | Vice Admiral John Scott Redd (born 1944) | 1 July 1995 | June 1996 | ~336 days | Director for Strategy, Plans and Policy, Joint Staff (1996-1998) Retired, 1998. | |
9 | Vice Admiral Thomas B. Fargo[39] (born 1948) | June 1996 | 27 July 1998 | ~2 years, 56 days | Promoted to admiral, 1999. Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (1999-2002) Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command (2002) Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (2002-2005) Retired, 2005. | |
10 | Vice Admiral Charles W. Moore Jr.[40] (born 1946) | 27 July 1998 | 3 February 2002 | 3 years, 191 days | Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics (2002-2004) Retired, 2004. | |
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet (C5F) and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) | ||||||
10 | Vice Admiral Charles W. Moore Jr. (born 1946) | 3 February 2002 | 11 February 2002 | 8 days | Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics (2002-2004) Retired, 2004. | |
11 | Vice Admiral Timothy J. Keating (born 1948) | 11 February 2002 | 7 October 2003 | 1 year, 238 days | Director of the Joint Staff (2003-2004) Promoted to admiral, 2004. Commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (2004-2007) Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (2007-2009) Retired, 2009. | |
12 | Vice Admiral David C. Nichols[41] (born 1950) | 7 October 2003 | 3 November 2005 | 2 years, 27 days | Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command (2005-2007) Retired, 2007. | |
13 | Vice Admiral Patrick M. Walsh[41] (born 1955) | 3 November 2005 | 27 February 2007 | 1 year, 116 days | Promoted to admiral, 2007. Vice Chief of Naval Operations (2007-2009) Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (2009-2012) Retired, 2012. | |
14 | Vice Admiral Kevin J. Cosgriff[42] | 27 February 2007 | 5 July 2008 | 1 year, 129 days | Retired, 2008. | |
15 | Vice Admiral William E. Gortney[43] (born 1955) | 5 July 2008 | 5 July 2010 | 2 years, 0 days | Director of the Joint Staff (2010-2012) Promoted to admiral, 2012. Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (2012-2014) Commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (2014-2016) Retired, 2016. | |
16 | Vice Admiral Mark I. Fox[44] (born 1956) | 5 July 2010 | 24 May 2012 | 1 year, 324 days | Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans, and Strategy (2012-2013) Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command (2013-2016) Retired, 2016. | |
17 | Vice Admiral John W. Miller[45] | 24 May 2012 | 3 September 2015 | 3 years, 102 days | Retired, 2015. | |
18 | Vice Admiral Kevin M. Donegan[46] (born 1958) | 3 September 2015 | 19 September 2017 | 2 years, 16 days | Director of Navy Staff and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy (2017-2018) Retired, 2018. | |
19 | Vice Admiral John C. Aquilino[47] (born 1962) | 19 September 2017 | 6 May 2018 | 229 days | Promoted to admiral, 2018. Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (2018-2021) Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (2021-present) | |
20 | Vice Admiral Scott Stearney[48] (1960–2018) | 6 May 2018 | 1 December 2018 | 209 days | Found dead in Bahrain residence, cause of death ruled a suicide. | |
- | Rear Admiral (lower half) Paul J. Schlise Acting | 1 December 2018 | 7 December 2018 | 6 days | Was deputy commander of NAVCENT/C5F from 2017 to 2019. Director, Surface Warfare Division, N96, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (2020-present) | |
21 | Vice Admiral James J. Malloy[49] (born 1963) | 7 December 2018 | 19 August 2020 | 1 year, 256 days | Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command (2020-present) | |
22 | Vice Admiral Samuel Paparo[50] (born 1964) | 19 August 2020 | 5 May 2021 | 259 days | Promoted to admiral, 2021. Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (2021-present) | |
23 | Vice Admiral Charles Cooper II[51] (born 1967) | 5 May 2021 | 1 February 2024 | 2 years, 272 days | - | |
24 | Vice Admiral George M. Wikoff (born 1968) | 1 February 2024 | Incumbent | 55 days | - |