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."
More 4th Fleet information here.
We haven't had a fleet for South American focus since 1950. I wonder why we are reestablishing it now? I sincerely doubt this is a response to Hugo Chavez. If we could face Castro without 4th Fleet, we hardly need the command structure for Hugo. Yet the last time we established a fleet--5th Fleet for CENTCOM operations--we certainly used it. I just don't see why we need a new fleet for what we do in Central and South America plus Caribbean.
I look forward to reading more by those who know more.
UPDATE: Hmm. There is this reason, I suppose:
Petrobras, Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Norsk Hydro ASA plan to start pumping oil from eight Brazilian fields in the next 2 1/2 years that will produce a combined 1.02 million barrels a day, enough to supply two-thirds of the crude used by U.S. East Coast refineries.
More discoveries will follow in Brazil's offshore basins, most of which have yet to be opened to exploration, Zeihan said. Repsol YPF SA, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. are among the producers scouring Brazil's waters for reserves.
Nothing immediate mind you, but looking ahead a couple decades this could be promising.
UPDATE: Strategypage says this is indeed about Hugo, along with Cuba and the drug cartels. I don't get why we need this organization unless we really need to coordinate naval operatons on both sides of the Panama Canal which would have fallen to our east and west coast fleets without 4th Fleet.
