2nd Fleet folds into Fleet Forces Command

[darrels joy]

2nd Fleet folds into Fleet Forces Command




By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 30, 2011 16:09:41 EDT

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — Now, all that’s left is a commemorative plaque.

The Navy’s 2nd Fleet — the command that quarantined Cuba in 1962, led the Navy’s responses to Hurricane Katrina and oversaw East Coast Navy combat training for much of its 6½ decades of service —faded into the history books Friday morning, the victim of a downturned economy, federal budget pressures and Navy cost-cutting.

The sun-splashed ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk merged 2nd Fleet, which traced its roots to 1946, with Fleet Forces Command, which itself sprouted out of the former Atlantic Fleet.

The merger comes about two months after the disestablishment of U.S. Joint Forces Command, which managed Pentagon demands for Navy deployers, trained deploying joint battle staffs and conducted joint experimentation. It, too, was shuttered in a cost-cutting move initiated by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who called for eliminating “wasteful, excessive and unneeded spending” and the redirection of defense dollars into the current wars and the “most likely and lethal future threats.”

The changes were also aimed at convincing a Congress under heavy pressure to cut federal spending that the Pentagon was getting its own house in order and that further spending cuts are unnecessary. But more are likely, given a $465 billion Defense Department passed by Congress for the next 12 years.

The Navy has frequently reorganized over the years, and Fleet Forces chief Adm. John Harvey told the audience that the 2nd Fleet disestablishment “part of the natural progression of things.”

Harvey also predicted that much more substantial changes are coming both to the Navy and the rest of the Defense Department.

“As our forces complete the drawdown in Iraq and commence the drawdown in Afghanistan, our entire military will be reorganized, and reshaped, to most effectively face the challenges of tomorrow,” he said.
“And in the midst of the most significant fiscal crisis for this nation since the Great Depression from 1929 to 1940, a great deal of profound change is coming. And today’s events mark the leading edge of that change.”

But, Harvey added, “our mission remains the same. Our standards remain the same. Only our structure has changed. … Our purpose and our focus is on the deckplates and the flight decks, ensuring our sailors have the tools and training and time they need to deploy, confident in their ability to carry out the missions they have been assigned.”

The merger plans stirred concerns within the two staffs, as well in Congress. Planning documents obtained by Navy Times last spring cited senior-level worries about lines of communication within the merged organization and an “oversaturation” of tasks among fleet leaders and staff members. An official familiar with the merger process said the effort was being rushed.

Apprised of the internal staff concerns, the chairman of the House Armed Service Committee’s Readiness Subcommittee, Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said he feared the Navy was cutting back for the sake of cutting back.
Forbes had raised similar criticisms about the plan to close Joint Forces command.

2nd Fleet’s final commander didn’t address those issues, but hinted in his remarks at a difficult transition.

“I can assure you that this has not been one of most favorite projects over the last eight months, to merge our staffs,” said Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, who plans to retire. “But as professionals, and under Admiral Harvey’s inspirational leadership, we executed this mission with the same zeal, determination and spirit that we put into the fun things — the things we like to do.”

Harvey acknowledged the hard work.

“It has involved a great deal of effort from everyone at 2nd Fleet and at Fleet Forces,” he said. “It was not a task we sought. But it was a task that came our way. A mission that we had to accomplish, just like any other.”

Harvey heaped praise on Holloway, who he said took on the task with “an extraordinary display of professionalism.

“There are a lot of ways this could have gone,” Harvey said. “And all of you know what they are. But they didn’t go any of those ways. They went the right way, because of how Dan Holloway approached this.”

Under the reorganization, Fleet Forces Command now has a unique command arrangement featuring two deputy commanders: a two-star admiral serving simultaneously as chief of staff and overseer of fleet management, and a three-star deputy commander for fleet and joint operations.

The three-star is responsible for the training and certification of East Coast naval forces preparing to deploy — the function overseen until now by 2nd Fleet. An executive director for fleet resources and readiness integration also reports to Harvey.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/0...osure-093011w/