U.S. Navy Announces Re-Establishment of U.S. Fourth Fleet

Some say it could be another setup for a preemptive military strike.

File photo courtesy: U.S. Navy

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the re-establishment of the U.S. Fourth Fleet and assigned Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, currently serving as commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, as its new commander.

Fourth Fleet will be responsible for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and submarines operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

U.S. Fourth Fleet will be dual-hatted with the existing commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO), currently located in Mayport, Fla. U.S. Fourth Fleet has been re-established to address the increased role of maritime forces in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of operations, and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to regional partners.

"Re-establishing the Fourth Fleet recognizes the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, and signals our support and interest in the civil and military maritime services in Central and South America," said Roughead.

"Our maritime strategy raises the importance of working with international partners as the basis for global maritime security. This change increases our emphasis in the region on employing naval forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests."

Effective July 1st, the command will have operational responsibility for U.S. Navy assets assigned from east and west coast fleets to operate in the SOUTHCOM area. As a result, U.S. Fourth Fleet will not involve an increase in forces assigned in Mayport, Florida.

The Navy says they will use assets to conduct varying missions including a range of contingency operations, counter narcoterrorism, and theater security cooperation (TSC) activities. TSC includes military-to-military interaction and bilateral training opportunities as well as humanitarian assistance and in-country partnerships.

U.S. Fourth Fleet will retain responsibility as NAVSO, the Navy component command for SOUTHCOM. Its mission is to direct U.S. naval forces operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies to shape the maritime environment.

Kernan will be the first Navy SEAL to serve as a numbered fleet commander.

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Maybe we should just buy oil like everyone else...the stealing option has proven to be more expensive ....plus we are pissing off the rest of the world.

As some of you know recent discoveries of huge oil reserves in Brazil may be why this fleet was re-established. If the discovery pans out we will no longer be getting our oil from the mideast, but from Brazil. China and India will then be getting most of their oil from the miidle east and maybe this will drive down the price of oil. I predict that Hugo Chavez will attemp to muddy up the waters with false claims of an impending attack, but an embargo on his oil will probably take place to help Venezuala have fair elections. I imagine we will have a military presence in the mideast for a long time, but who knows what the future holds, other than cheaper energy, hopefully.

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