Navy to stand up new 4th Fleet in Mayport

[unhappycamper]

Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, current head of Naval Special Warfare Command, has been tapped to head the new 4th Fleet.


Navy to stand up new 4th Fleet in Mayport
By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 19:22:27 EDT

The Navy will create a 4th Fleet headquartered at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., and will tap a two-star SEAL officer to lead it, according to a Pentagon announcement Thursday.

Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, head of Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, Calif., has been chosen to command the new fleet. Kernan will take control of both 4th Fleet and the current Naval Forces Southern Command, the Navy component of U.S. Southern Command.

The command will oversee maritime operations in Central and South American waters, and is similar to the command structure of 5th Fleet, which is also Naval Forces Central Command.

“I am thrilled that the secretary of the Navy and (Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead) have chosen to stand up the 4th Fleet, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Adm. James Stavridis, commander of the Miami-based SouthCom, the organization set to benefit most from the new numbered fleet.

“While I am clearly a joint commander in every sense, as an admiral, I am personally very pleased and proud to see the Navy stand up an organization like 4th Fleet to operate with partner nations in the region.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/04/navy_4thfleet_042408w/



uhc comment: They're smelling the newly discovered oil down south.