The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

responsible for the East Coast and

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. The Fleet was established following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

's perception that the potential military threat posed by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

had diminished. On 4 May 2018,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

John M. Richardson, the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

, announced plans to reestablish Second Fleet amid heightened tensions between NATO and Russia. It was reestablished on 24 August 2018, with Vice Admiral Andrew "Woody" Lewis in command. Second Fleet's historic area of responsibility included approximately of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

from the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...

to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

and from the shores of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

to the middle of the

. Second Fleet's

United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. ...

counterpart was

United States First Fleet The First Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy, in operation from January 1947 to 1 February 1973 in the western Pacific Ocean as part of the Pacific Fleet. In 1973, it was disestablished and its duties assumed by the United St ...

from the immediate post-World War II years until 1973, and

United States Third Fleet The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...

from 1973. Prior to its 2011 disestablishment, Second Fleet oversaw approximately 126 ships, 4,500 aircraft, and 90,000 personnel home-ported at U.S. Navy installations along the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

Mission

As of 2008, the Commander, Second Fleet (COMSECONDFLT), under the Commander,

U.S. Fleet Forces Command 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 Stat ...

(CUSFFC), was also designated as Commander,

Task Force 20 Task Force 20 is a temporary combat force designation that has been used several times and may still used by separate parts of the United States armed forces. The longer-established iteration was a part of the United States Second Fleet in the A ...

. CTF-20 planned for, and when directed, conducted battle force operations in the Atlantic command in support of designated unified or allied commanders. CTF-20 directed movements and exercised operational control of USFFC assigned units to carry out scheduled ocean transits and other special operations as directed, in order to maximize fleet operational readiness to respond to contingencies in the Atlantic command area of operations. In order to command and control its forces, CTF-20 maintained a Joint Maritime Operations Center at its Maritime Headquarters, which was officially said to offer a new approach to command and control for fleet commanders. Until 2005, COMSECONDFLT had a permanent assignment with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based at ...

's (SACLANT)

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

, as the Commander Striking Fleet Atlantic (COMSTRIKFLTLANT). COMSTRIKFLTLANT commanded a multinational force whose primary mission was to deter aggression and to protect

's Atlantic interests. Striking Fleet Atlantic was tasked with ensuring the integrity of NATO's

sea lines of communication Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or in ...

. STRIKFLTLANT was deactivated in a ceremony to be held on on 24 June 2005, being replaced by the Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence located at the Second Fleet headquarters.

Training

During its existence, Second Fleet was responsible for training and certifying Atlantic Fleet units for forward deployment to other numbered fleets, primarily U.S. Fourth Fleet,

U.S. Fifth Fleet 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 headq ...

, and

U.S. Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

. Second Fleet's main training and certification venues were the

Composite Unit Training Exercise COMPTUEX, or Composite Training Unit Exercise, is a rehearsal each US Navy Carrier Strike Group performs before departing for deployment. Each ship and aircraft in the battle group trains in its specialty; COMPTUEX brings ships together to project ...

(COMTUEX) and Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX), conducted off the eastern U.S. coast from Virginia to Florida. These exercises serve as a ready-for-deployment certification events for Carrier Strike Groups, Amphibious ready groups, as well as independently deploying units.

Joint Task Force 120

In times of crisis and during certain exercises, Second Fleet became the Commander, Joint Task Force 120. This joint task force consists of elements of the Atlantic Fleet, U.S. Army quick reaction airborne and air assault units, U.S. Air Force aircraft and support personnel, U.S. Marine Corps amphibious forces, and at times, designated units of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

. When activated, Joint Task Force 120 was tasked to execute a variety of contingency missions.

Subordinate Task Forces

Commander Second Fleet oversaw several subordinate task forces, which were activated as needed. Additionally, Commander, Second Fleet was the immediate superior to a number of Carrier Strike Groups,

Expeditionary Strike Group 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 super ...

Commander Strike Force Training Atlantic Commander, Carrier Strike Group FOUR (CCSG-4 or COMSTRKGRUFOUR) is the U.S. Fleet Forces Command formation charged with training and certifying Atlantic Fleet Carrier Strike Groups, Amphibious Ready Groups, and independently deploying surface ...

, as well as the Standing Navy Command Element (COMSTANDNAV CE), a deployable command element that has served multiple rotations as the headquarters of

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

. In October 1996 COMSECONDFLT created Task Force 28, consisting of independent deployers operating in both the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific. Commander,

Western Hemisphere Group The Western Hemisphere Group was a United States Navy formation active from 1 September 1995 to 1999–2000. Headquarters was at Naval Station Mayport, Florida. In October 1996 Commander U.S. Second Fleet created Task Force 28, consisting of indepe ...

was assigned as Commander Task Force 28 (CTF 28). This arrangement assigned COMWESTHEMGRU the operational control (OPCON) of these Second Fleet destroyers.

History

The U.S. Second Fleet traces its origin to the reorganization of the Navy following

in December 1945 and the formation of the United States Eighth Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral

Marc A. Mitscher Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of ...

. In January 1947, Eighth Fleet was renamed Second Task Fleet. Three years later, in February 1950, the command was redesignated U.S. Second Fleet. Second Fleet's area of responsibility included the Atlantic coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

and part of the west coast of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Cuban Quarantine

In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy called on Second Fleet to establish quarantine during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

. For more than a month, Second Fleet units operated northeast of the island, intercepting and inspecting dozens of ships for contraband. The operational control of the quarantine force was assigned to the Commander of the Second Fleet, Vice Admiral Alfred G. Ward, who organized Task Force 136 for this purpose. Task Force 136 included the support carrier USS ''Essex''. Effective deployment constituted a mammoth task to be accomplished in minimum time. To prevent future difficulties, plans had to be developed, ship captains briefed, supply ships dispatched, and thousands of details checked. Other Navy and Marine forces faced similar tough schedules. Marines, if not already engaged in landing exercises, were loaded on amphibious ships and ordered to sea. At the

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...

, dependents were evacuated to the United States on 22 October, and Marine units were shipped by air and sea to reinforce the base. Task Force 135, including the carrier , was sent to the south of Cuba, ready to join in the defense of the Guantanamo Bay base if needed. The carrier and the supporting ships of Carrier Division Six stood by to provide additional support. Antisubmarine forces were redeployed to cover the quarantine operations. An intensive air surveillance of the Atlantic was initiated, keeping track of the 2,000 commercial ships usually in the area; regular and reserve Navy aircraft were joined in this search by SAC bombers. Major exercises the fleet participated in during the Cold War included Exercise Mariner, Operation Strikeback in 1957, the maritime component of

Exercise Reforger Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic s ...

, and Northern Wedding. From 9 to 12 February 1978, Task Group 21.6 ( and USS ''Spruance'') visited

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As t ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

Urgent Fury

In 1983, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

ordered the Second Fleet to the

to lead the invasion of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pet ...

during

Operation Urgent Fury The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a Caribbean Peace Force, coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fur ...

. Leading joint forces, Vice Admiral Joseph Metcalf, III, COMSECONDFLT, became Commander, Joint Task Force 120 (CJTF 120), and commanded units from the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, and the Marine Corps. The amphibious force for the operation was made up of Amphibious Squadron 4 (the amphibious assault ship , the amphibious transport dock , the dock landing ship , and the tank landing ships and ) and the

22nd Marine Amphibious Unit The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU) is one of seven such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. It is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. They are currently based out of ...

, built around 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. Vice Admiral Metcalf assigned to the amphibious force, designated Task Force 124, the mission of seizing the Pearls Airport and the port of Grenville, and of neutralizing any opposing forces in the area. Simultaneously, Army Rangers (Task Force 121)— together with elements of the 82d Airborne Division (Task Force 123)— would secure points at the southern end of the island, including the nearly completed jet airfield under construction near Point Salines. Task Group 20.5, a carrier battle group build around ''Independence'' and Air Force elements would support the ground forces.

Desert Shield/Desert Storm

Before the Persian Gulf War's

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, Second Fleet trained more than half of the Navy ships deployed to Southwest Asia.

Twenty-first century

On 22 February 2005/24 June 2005, with the establishment of

Allied Command Transformation Allied Command Transformation (ACT) (French: ''Commandement allié Transformation'') is a military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring. It was intended to lead military transformation of ...

, and in the total absence of the Soviet threat that had prompted its creation, the Striking Fleet Atlantic nucleus was disbanded. It was replaced in 2006 by the

Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence The Combined Joint Operations from the Sea - Centre of Excellence (CJOS COE) is a multinational military Centre of Excellence located in Norfolk, Virginia, accredited by NATO. The current director iVice Admiral Daniel Dwyerref> of the United Stat ...

. On 1 July 2008, the Navy re-established the United States Fourth Fleet, based at

Naval Station Mayport Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admi ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, which then assumed responsibility for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and submarines operating in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...

and the waters of Central and South America. In the aftermath of the

2010 Haiti earthquake A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's ca ...

, Second Fleet dispatched 17 ships, 48 helicopters, 12 fixed-wing aircraft and over 10,000 Sailors and Marines in support of Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response. Second Fleet units conducted 336 air deliveries, delivered 32,400 US gallons (123,000 L; 27,000 imp gal) of water, 111,082 meals and 9,000 lb (4,100 kg) of medical supplies. Hospital ship , as well as survey vessels, ferries, elements of the Maritime Prepositioning ship and

underway replenishment Replenishment at sea (RAS) ( North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Commonwealth of Nations) or underway replenishment (UNREP) ( U.S. Navy) is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way. First devel ...

fleets, and a further three amphibious operations ships also participated. During the evacuation of Hurricane Irene in August 2011, the fleet evacuated to the safety of the open ocean.

Disestablishment

On 21 August 2010, it was reported that Secretary

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...

was considering disestablishing Second Fleet. On 6 January 2011, it was reported via a DoD news article that the Navy would disestablish Second Fleet in order to "use those savings and more to fund additional ships". The fleet was officially dissolved in a ceremony at Norfolk on 30 September 2011. Second Fleet's responsibilities and its additional title of Commander,

, were transferred to the re-organized

United States Fleet Forces Command 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 Sta ...

, as was the post of CJOS COE.

Reestablishment

On 4 May 2018, ''

Defense News ''Defense News'' is a website and newspaper about the politics, business, and technology of national security published by Sightline Media Group. Founded in 1986, ''Defense News'' serves an audience of senior military, government, and industry d ...

'' reported that Admiral Chris Grady announced the reestablishment of the Second Fleet. Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael remarked that "NATO is refocusing on the Atlantic in recognition of the great power competition prompted by a resurgent Russia," citing that as the reason for the reestablishment of the fleet. Second Fleet was scheduled to resume operations officially on 1 July 2018, initially with a staff of 15 personnel (11 officers and four enlisted personnel), although plans call for its work force to expand to 256 (85 officers, 164 enlisted personnel, and seven civilians). It will exercise operational and administrative authorities over assigned ships, aircraft, and landing forces on the United States East Coast and in the northern Atlantic Ocean, as well as plan and conduct maritime, joint, and combined operations and train, certify and provide maritime forces to respond to global contingencies. Commander, Second Fleet will report to

. Vice Admiral Andrew L. Lewis was confirmed on 18 June 2018 as Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet. Second Fleet was reactivated in Norfolk on 1 July 2018 and received formal establishment on 24 August 2018. Commander Second Fleet will be dual-hatted as the Commander for Joint Force Command for the Atlantic that will report to the

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

. This Joint Forces Command is formally known as

Joint Force Command Norfolk Joint Force Command - Norfolk (JFC-NF) is a joint operational level command part of the NATO Military Command Structure under Allied Command Operations. Its headquarters is located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Background In late 2017-early ...

. Rear Adm. Doug Perry, director of joint and fleet operations at Fleet Forces Command, was quoted in early November 2018 that the fleet was reformed because '..the Navy needed a commander to direct sustained combat operations in the Atlantic'. Perry made clear that the standup sends the message that "we understand we are in a battle for the Atlantic, and we will contest it." Defense News reported that 2nd Fleet was fully operational on 31 December 2019. During Exercise Steadfast Defender '21, Canadian Rear Admiral Steve Waddell, vice commander, Second Fleet, served as commander of C2F’s forward-deployed Task Force 20. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Navy announced that Rear Admiral (lower half) Brian L. Davies would be assigned additional duties as deputy commander, Second Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia. He was to retain all currently assigned duties as Commander,

Submarine Group 2 Submarine Group 2 (also known as SUBGRU 2) is a seagoing group of the United States Navy based at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia. History Between 1965 and 2014, Submarine Group 2 was responsible for the administrative ...

, Norfolk, Virginia.

References

External links

Official website of the Second FleetU.S. 2nd Fleet Contributing to Global Operations
– Office of Information – U.S. Navy (11 May 2010) {{Use dmy dates, date=August 2019 2 Military units and formations established in 1950 Military units and formations disestablished in 2011 Military units and formations established in 2018