Disestablished commands of the United States Navy

Disestablished commands of the United States Navy are major operational or administrative units which have since been disbanded or disestablished by the United States Navy. Disestablishing a command is slightly different from decommissioning an individual vessel, in that disestablishment normally refers to shore offices or high level fleet commands. Although, even in these contexts, the term "decommissioning" is frequently interchanged for these commands as well.[1]

Flotillas and Squadrons

Flotillas were common in the 19th century American Navy but had largely disappeared by the early 1900s in favor of surface units known as "squadrons". One of the more famous flotillas was under the command of Matthew C. Perry who conducted several gunboat diplomacy visits to the Japanese islands in the late 1800s.[2]

Naval squadrons have, in the modern U.S. Navy, become the primary administrative unit for naval ships, submarines, and aircraft. Historically, the U.S. Navy has maintained a number of squadrons which have since been disestablished.

Fleets

In its history, the following fleets have been deactivated by the United States Navy

The term "Great White Fleet" referred to an early 20th century naval battle group which was formed from two battleship squadrons and completed a tour around the world under the orders of Theodore Roosevelt.[3]

Task Forces

During World War II, the Fast Carrier Task Force (commonly known as "Task Force 38") was a battle group command designed to rapidly deploy to areas of the Pacific in order to engage the enemy. Several commands of the Second World War were also referred to as the "Western Naval Task Force".

In more recent times, a component of Commander Naval Forces Korea, previously known as "Commander Rear Area Naval Forces Korea" has since become known as Task Force 778, attached to the United States Seventh Fleet.

Area Commands

Various naval commands were established during World War II in order to administer the vast areas of the Pacific Ocean which were falling under Allied control. One of the largest commands was CINPOA (Commander in the Pacific Operating Area) which was intended as a joint command with CINCPAC. Various other naval commands existed through the South Pacific to include the naval garrisons of the Solomon Islands.

Bureaus

Naval bureaus were the original shore establishment commands of the Navy, covering a variety of services. Several of the original bureaus, to include those listed below, have since been disbanded

Surface divisions

Surface divisions were common in the early to mid 20th century, usually for larger warships. Until the 1960s, aircraft carriers were administratively grouped into "carrier divisions" until becoming "carrier groups" by the 1980s. Commander Carrier Division 3 was one of the more well known surface division commands.

United States naval districts were long standing permanent shore commands which oversaw administrative and personnel related matters in various geographical regions of the United States.

In the modern Navy, the only surviving naval district is Naval District Washington. All other naval districts have been disbanded and merged into several Navy regions. The first region to be disestablished was Navy Region Midwest which was inactivated in September 2014.

Sea Frontiers

Sea Frontiers were operational areas in coastal or archipelago waters intended to serve as a command establishment in the event of a naval invasion. The last of the U.S. Navy sea frontiers was inactivated in the 1970s.

Barrier Forces

Similar to sea frontiers, these were naval air forces commands. One of the largest was "Barrier Force Atlantic" while one of the smaller was "Barrier Force Caribbean".[4]

References

  1. ↑ Goodspeed, M. H., U.S. Navy A Complete History, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates (2003)
  2. ↑ Arnold, Josh M., Diplomacy Far Removed: A Reinterpretation of the U.S. Decision to Open Diplomatic Relations with Japan, University of Arizona (2005)
  3. ↑ Crawford, M. J., The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet: Honoring 100 Years of Global Partnerships and Security. Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center (2008)
  4. ↑ Smith, Douglas, One Hundred Years of U.S. Navy Air Power, Naval Institute Press (October 2010)
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