Commander-in-Chief Fleet
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Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) is the admiral responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the British Royal Navy. CINC is subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Naval Service.
Full command of all deployable Fleet units, including the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, is delegated to Commander-in-Chief Fleet, currently Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, with his Command Headquarters at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth and his Operational Headquarters at Northwood, Middlesex, co-located with the Permanent Joint Headquarters and a NATO Regional Command, Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood. CINCFLEET is dual-hatted as Commander AMCCN.
CINC is supported by:
- Second Sea Lord, based in HMS Excellent, Principal Personnel Officer for the Naval Service. Also Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm.
- Deputy CINC, based in HMS Excellent, who commands the HQ
- Commander Operations, based at Northwood, responsible for operational command of RN assets. Also Rear Admiral Submarines and Commander Submarine Allied Forces North (NATO)
- Commander UK Maritime Forces, the deployable Force Commander responsible for the Maritime Battle Staffs; UK Task Group, UK Amphibious Task Group, UK Maritime Component Command.
- Commander UK Amphibious Force/ Commandant General Royal Marines
[edit] History of the Commanders-in-Chief
Historically, the Royal Navy was usually split into several commands, each with a Commander-in-Chief (e.g. Commander-in-Chief Plymouth, Commander-in-Chief China Station, etc). There now remain only two Commanders-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief Fleet and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command.
In 1971, with the withdrawal from Singapore, the Far East and Western fleets of the Royal Navy were unified under the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, initially based in HMS Warrior, a land base in Northwood, Middlesex. This continued the trend of shore-basing the home naval command that had started in 1960, when the Home Fleet command was transferred ashore. The majority of the staff have now transferred to a new facility in HMS Excellent.
The Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME) is also been known as the Second Sea Lord (2SL) and is responsible for the shore-based establishments and manpower of the Royal Navy, and is based in Portsmouth. The Second Sea Lord and his staff were formerly resident in Victory Building, Portsmouth Dockyard, and he formally flies his flag aboard HMS Victory.
In 2006 the staffs of CINCFLEET and 2SL merged, with the majority of 2SL's staff joining the CINCFLEET staff in Excellent.
[edit] NATO commitment
The post has also come with various NATO appointments since its creation, including:
- Commander in Chief Channel (until 1994)
- Commander in Chief East Atlantic (1994–2004)
- Commander Allied Maritime Component Command, Northwood (current)
[edit] List of Commanders-in-Chief Fleet
- Admiral Sir Edward Ashmore, 1971–Dec 1973
- Admiral Sir Terence Lewin, Dec 1973–Oct 1975
- Admiral Sir John Treacher, Oct 1975–Mar 1977
- Admiral Sir Henry Leach, Mar 1977–May 1979
- Admiral Sir James Eberle, Mar 1979–Apr 1981
- Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, Apr 1981–Oct 1982
- Admiral Sir William Staveley, Oct 1982–Jun 1985
- Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt, Jun 1985–May 1987
- Admiral Sir Julian Oswald, May 1987–Apr 1989
- Admiral Sir Benjamin Bathurst, Apr 1989–Jan 1991
- Admiral Sir Jock Slater, Jan 1991–Dec 1992
- Admiral Sir Hugo White, Dec 1992–Jun 1995
- Admiral Sir Peter Abbott, Oct 1995–Sept 1997
- Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Sept 1997–Sept 1998
- Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh, Sept 1998–Nov 2000
- Admiral Sir Alan West, Nov 2000–Sept 2002
- Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, Sept 2002–Nov 2005
- Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, Nov 2005–
