Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet (COMUSNAVSO/C4F) celebrated the command’s fourth birthday with a family-style barbecue at Stark Park on Naval Station Mayport, Fla., July 20.
The entire staff and their families were invited to the birthday event organized by the command’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation committee. Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris , commander, COMUSNAVSO/C4F announced the winners of the weeklong sporting competition, a command T-shirt design contest and awarded two trophies to the command basketball team for winning the Naval Station Mayport competition before cutting the official birthday cake.
“I think everyone enjoyed themselves today and it was nice to take a pause and recognize how far we have come in four years as a fleet command,” said Command Master Chief Mauricio Rueda .
The combined command was officially reestablished July 18, 2008 by then-Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead and is responsible for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and submarines operating in the Caribbean, and Atlantic and Pacific Oceans around Central and South America.
“The reestablishment of the Fourth Fleet in 2008 was a clear indication of the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, and sends a strong signal of partnership to the civil and military maritime services in Central and Latin America,” said Harris.
U.S. 4th Fleet was originally established in 1943 as one of the original numbered fleets, and was given a specific mission. During World War II, the U.S. needed a command in charge of protecting against raiders, blockade runners and enemy submarines in the South Atlantic. U.S. 4th Fleet was disestablished in 1950 when U.S. 2nd Fleet took over its responsibilities.
COMUSNAVSO/C4F supports USSOUTHCOM joint and combined full-spectrum military operations by providing a principally sea-based, forward presence to ensure freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain, to foster and sustain cooperative relationships with international partners and to fully exploit the sea as maneuver space in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, July 24, 2012; Image: US Navy