| Naval Surface Forces Atlantic | |
|---|---|
Naval Surface Forces Atlantic seal |
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| Active | 1 July 1975 to date. |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Type Command (TYCOM) |
| Role | Administrative |
| Part of | United States Fleet Forces Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Norfolk Naval Base |
| Website | Official Website |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Rear Admiral David M. Thomas, Jr., USN[1] |
| Chief of Staff | Captain Richard A. Rogers, USN[1] |
| Force Master Chief | FORCM James Williams, USN[1] |
Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Atlantic (COMNAVSURFLANT) is a post within the United States Fleet Forces Command. As Naval Surface Forces, Atlantic, it is a military formation, but the organization is often known as COMNAVSURFLANT. Its headquarters are at the Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia.[2] The commander, as of August 2010, was Rear Admiral David M. Thomas Jr. NAVSURFLANT supervises all surface ships based on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast. Before the creation of Fleet Forces Command, the organization supervised all surface ships in the United States Atlantic Fleet.
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Naval Surface Force Atlantic, a U.S. Navy type command (TYCOM) consists of more than 70 ships, 25 separate organizations, and 25,000 personnel.[3] The command was created on 1 July 1975 by the consolidation of the previous Commander, Amphibious Forces, Atlantic Fleet (COMPHIBLANT), Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Forces, Atlantic Fleet (COMCRUDESLANT), Commander, Service Forces, Atlantic Fleet (COMSERVLANT), and Commander, Minesweeping Force, Atlantic Fleet.[4]
The Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, was established after the First World War. The Force was redesignated as Destroyer Squadron, Atlantic, on October 1, 1921; later to be redesignated again as Destroyer Squadron, Scouting Fleet, U.S. Fleet, on December 8, 1922. With the change in designations in the Fleet, the destroyers were established as Destroyer Squadron, Scouting Force, U.S. Fleet. From October 1, 1937, to July 3, 1940, units of this squadron were transferred continually to the Pacific Fleet. The outbreak of war in Europe reversed this trend.
On July 3, 1940, there were again enough destroyers in the Atlantic to establish a type command, which became known as Destroyers, Atlantic Squadron, U.S. Fleet. When in November 1940, the Atlantic Squadron became the Patrol Force; the destroyer command was renamed Destroyers, Patrol Force, U.S. Fleet. On February 3, 1941, with the reorganization of the Navy and the dissolution of the Patrol Force; the U.S. Atlantic Fleet formed and Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet came into being. On 1 April 1962, the Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Atlantic (CruDesLant), was formed by the merger of the former cruiser and destroyer type commands. USS Yosemite (AD-19), the former DesLant flagship, became the CruDesLant flagship. COMCRUDESLANT was originally headquartered at Naval Station Newport, RI, but transferred to Norfolk in the early 1970s.
Previously, Commander, Service Forces, Atlantic Fleet, whose abbreviation was COMSERVLANT, referred to both the U.S. Navy officer serving in that appointment which was extant from before World War II to 1975, and the command he headed, Service Forces, Atlantic Fleet (SERVLANT).
The Commander, Service Forces, Atlantic, was the commander of all Atlantic Fleet "service"-type ships, such as oilers, tankers, ammunition ships, reefer ships, cargo ships, supply ships, repair ships, and the like. These ships were non-combatant and were intended only to support the warships as they required supplies. ComServLant was a very large organization during World War II, and its sub-units were termed Service Squadrons (ServRons).
Effective 1 October 2001, the U.S. Navy designated a "Lead-Follow" arrangement among its type commands wherein one type commander was designated the senior lead for the specific "type" of weapon system (i.e., naval aviation, submarine warfare, surface warships) throughout the entire operating U.S. Fleet as it pertains to modernization needs, training initiatives, and operational concept development. From that date, these designated fleet TYCOM commanders were to provide guidance to their respective "type" forces via the lead-follow TYCOM arrangement.[5]
The Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMNAVSURFPAC) was designated as the Commander, Naval Surface Forces (COMNAVSURFOR) for the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, with the Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (COMNAVSURFLANT), serving as his deputy. COMNAVSURFOR is responsible for modernization needs, training initiatives, and operational concept development for the surface warfare community throughout the U.S. Navy's operational fleet.[5][6] It appears that as a result, the COMNAVSURFLANT post was lowered to a Rear Admiral's post instead of the previous Vice Admiral.
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