The Pacific Fleet took part in
Operation Magic Carpet, the return of U.S. servicemen, after the end of the Second World War. The organization of the Pacific Fleet in January 1947 is shown in Hal M. Friedman's
Arguing over the American Lake: Bureaucracy and Rivalry in the U.S. Pacific, 1945–1947. Since 1950, the Pacific Fleet has been involved in the
Korean War, the
Vietnam War, the two
Taiwan Straits Crises, and a number of other operations including the
Mayaguez Incident of 1975, as well as post-Vietnam related operations such as
Operation New Arrivals. The
RIMPAC exercise series began in 1971. On 7 March 1984, the Secretaries of Transportation and Navy signed a Memorandum of Agreement which created the Maritime Defense Zones (MDZ). The Pacific MDZ is an echelon three Navy command under the Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Pacific MDZ has responsibility for coastal defense up to around the U.S. West Coast, Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii during times of hostility. On 1 October 1990, Commander
U.S. Naval Forces Alaska (COMUSNAVAK) was established as the Naval Component Commander to Commander,
Alaskan Command (COMALCOM). Since its inception, COMUSNAVAK has grown to become responsible for coordinating all Navy activity in the Alaska and Aleutian area, for detailed planning and coordination for the Naval portion of the Joint and Combined
Exercise Northern Edge, and coordinates high-visibility U.S. Navy ship visits throughout Alaska in support of public relations and recruiting initiatives. The very large
PACEX 89 in the North Pacific involved the USN, Canadian Navy,
Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, and ROK Navy. At the end of Exercise PACEX '89 a 54-ship formation was assembled for photos. It included the flagship, , the Battle Group, the Battle Group, two battleship surface action groups formed around and , and a
Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force task force.
Missouri and
New Jersey performed a simultaneous gunfire demonstration for the aircraft carriers and during PACEX. The highlight of PacEx for
Missouri was a port visit in
Busan,
Republic of Korea. Other operations undertaken since include participation in the Alaskan Oil Spill Joint Task Force, including participation of Commander, Amphibious Group Three, as deputy CJTF. This was the defence response to the
Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 1989. Also, the Pacific Fleet was involved in "Classic Resolve" during the December
1989 Philippine coup attempt.
Enterprise, CVW-11 and Battle Group FOXTROT joined forces with USS
Midway (CV-41) and Battle Group ALPHA near Manila Bay. Operation Classic Resolve involved contingency operations, if necessary, to support U.S. interests following the Philippine coup attempt. Both battle groups were chopped to JTF Philippines. During the operations, the carriers maintained deck alerts and 24-hour coverage of Manila with E-2C aircraft. CVW-11 returned home through the Arabian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, leaving its ship, the “Big E", in Norfolk, Virginia for refueling. Around 10 September 1990, and visited
Vladivostok. This marked the first
United States Navy visit to the
Soviet Union's Pacific port of Vladivostok since before World War II. Before the visit was completed, the crew received word that their Pacific cruise was canceled. They returned to Long Beach and joined the Battle Group preparing to deploy to the
Persian Gulf. During
Operation Fiery Vigil in June 1991, the following vessels and groups participated in the sealift phase of the evacuation: the
Abraham Lincoln battle group (COMCARGRU 3 embarked): , , , , , , , Amphibious Ready Group Alpha (COMPHIBRON 3 embarked): , , , , and a large number of other vessels: , , , , , , , ,
MV 1st Lt. Jack Lummus, , , ,
USNS Passumpsic,
USNS Hassayampa, , , . (CNA, 1994, 113) Further operations included JTF Marianas (August–September 1992) and JTF Hawaii (September–October 1992). Other contingency operation after 1991 included
Operation Sea Angel (Bangladesh relief) (led by Commander
III Marine Expeditionary Force),
Operation Eastern Exit, and involvement in the
Somali Civil War – 'Restore Hope'. During 'Restore Hope,' Navy command arrangements underwent a number of changes during the operation. At the start, the principal naval forces were the
Ranger battle group (with Commander,
Carrier Group One embarked on as Commander, Naval Forces), the
Kitty Hawk battle group, an amphibious task unit including , , , and MV
Lummus, and three ships from MPSRON TWO (MV
Anderson, MV
Bonnyman, and MV
Phillips). Other events led to the departure of the carriers and, as a result, Commander, Naval Forces responsibilities devolved first to Commander, Carrier Group Three, on
Kitty Hawk, and thence to Commander, Amphibious Group Three. Finally Commander,
Amphibious Squadron 3 became COMNAVFOR on 15 January with the departure of COMPHIGRU THREE after the completion of the MPF offload. (CNA, 1994, 168) In 1995, Pacific Fleet surface ships were reshuffled. Effective 1 October 1995, the U.S. Pacific Fleet's surface ships were to be reorganized into six core battle groups and eight destroyer squadrons. Permanent core battle groups were to include a battle group commander, aircraft carrier, carrier air wing and at least two cruisers. • Commander
Cruiser-Destroyer Group 1/USS
Constellation Battle Group: and • ComCruDesGru 3/USS
Carl Vinson Battle Group: , and • ComCruDesGru 5/USS
Kitty Hawk Battle Group: and • Commander Carrier Group 7 (ComCarGru 7)/USS
Nimitz Battle Group: and • ComCar Gru 3/USS
Abraham Lincoln Battle Group: and • Commander
Carrier Group Five/USS
Independence Battle Group: and
Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific: •
Destroyer Squadron 1: , , , , , , and •
Destroyer Squadron 5: , , , , •
Destroyer Squadron 7: , , , and •
Destroyer Squadron 9: , , , , and •
Destroyer Squadron 15: , , , , , and •
Destroyer Squadron 21: , , , , and •
Destroyer Squadron 23: , , , , and •
Destroyer Squadron 31: , , and In 1996 two carrier battle groups were sent to the Taiwan area during the
Third Taiwan Straits Crisis. Later ships of the Pacific Fleet, notably , a , provided support to the entry of
INTERFET in
East Timor in 1999. Between 25 and 27 March 2006,
Carrier Strike Group Nine participated in a series of anti-submarine warfare exercises (ASW) in Hawaiian waters while en route to the
U.S. Seventh Fleet's area of responsibility. In addition to the strike group, the exercise also included the nuclear-powered attack submarines , , , , and , as well as land-based
P-3 Orion aircraft from Commander
Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 2 and associated patrol squadrons
VP-4,
VP-9, and
VP-47. As of 2011, the Pacific Fleet has authority over: • numbered
Third and
Seventh Fleets •
Naval Air Force, Pacific •
Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific •
Naval Submarine Force, Pacific •
Fleet Marine Force, Pacific Naval shore commands over which USPACFLT has authority: •
Commander Naval Forces Korea •
Commander Naval Forces Japan •
Commander Naval Forces Marianas ==Commanders==