United States Fleet Informations

The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941, under Executive Order 8984, when it was redefined and given operational command over the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic Fleets, as well as all naval coastal forces.Executive Order 9096 authorized the offices of the CNO and COMINCH to be held by a single officer; Admiral Ernest J. King was first to do so, and in 1944 was promoted to the five-star rank of fleet admiral.

The directive of 6 December 1922 combined the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the U.S. Atlantic Fleet to form the United States Fleet. The main body of its ships, the Battle Fleet, was stationed in the Pacific Ocean and the Scouting Fleet was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, the "Control Force", protecting the Atlantic sea lanes, and the "Fleet Base Force" were included. Remaining independent of the United States Fleet were the Asiatic Fleet, the Naval Forces in Europe, the Special Service Squadron (Caribbean), and all U.S. Navy submarines.

During 1930, the Battle Fleet and Scouting Fleet were renamed the Battle Force and the Scouting Force. The Submarine Force was also placed under control of the CINCUS. The Control Force was abolished in 1931. The Special Service Squadron and the Asiatic Fleet were retained, both still apparently independent of the U.S. Fleet.

With the start of World War II in Europe the U.S. Navy began to plan for the possibility of war in the Atlantic as well as the Pacific. On 1 February 1941, General Order 143 was issued, abolishing the "United States Fleet" organization. In its place, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet were re-established, each under its own commander in chief. The Asiatic Fleet remained an independent organization as before.

The additional title of Commander in Chief, United States Fleet was given to one of the three fleet commanders in the event of two or more fleets operating together. Except for this provision, the individual commanders in chief were responsible directly to the Secretary of the Navy and to the President of the United States.

Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel was appointed the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (CINCUS) and the Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC), on 1 February 1941, carrying the temporary rank of admiral starting on that date. Admiral Kimmel was relieved as the CINCUS / CINCPAC on 17 December 1941, shortly after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

On the following day, by Executive Order 8984 of 18 December 1941, the position of Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) was redefined, and given operational command over the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic Fleets, as well as all naval coastal forces. On 20 December, Admiral Ernest J. King was assigned as the COMINCH. One important difference from the previous post of CINCUS was that Admiral King insisted that his headquarters would always be in Washington, D.C., rather than with the Fleet.

Dividing command of the navy between the COMINCH Admiral King and the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Admiral Harold R. Stark did not prove to be very effective. President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed this problem with his Executive Order 9096 of 12 March 1942. This order commanded that the offices of the CNO and COMINCH would be held by a single naval officer, and Admiral King was selected to be CNO in addition to being COMINCH. Admiral King relieved Stark as the CNO on 29 March 1942, and King wore both of these "hats" for the remainder of World War II.

The position of Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, was no longer needed in peacetime. President Truman signed Executive Order 9635 on September 29, 1945, which revoked both EO 8984 and EO 9096 that had created the position, and all the responsibilities were transferred to the Chief of Naval Operations. From that date through the present, the Chief of Naval operations has nearly always been the highest-ranking U.S. Navy officer. Since the National Security Act of 1947 went into effect, the CNO is by law the highest-ranking naval officer on active duty, except when the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (a position created by the 1949 amendments of the National Security Act) and/or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (a position created by the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986) is also a U.S. Navy officer.

Commanders of the United States Fleet:

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