U.S. 7th Fleet

White House Nominates New Commanders for Pacific, Middle East Fleets

Rear Adm. Fred Kacher (l), Rear Adm. George Wikoff (r)

Two admirals currently serving in the Pentagon on the Joint Staff have been nominated to lead numbered fleets in the Middle East and the Pacific, the Department of Defense announced on Friday.

Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, currently the vice director for Operations (J-3) on the Joint Staff, has been nominated for a third star and to command U.S. 7th Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan, according to the announcement. He would succeed the current 7th Fleet...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/28/white-house-nominates-new-commanders-for-pacific-middle-east-fleets

New Marine Littoral Regiment Key to Expanded Pacific Security Cooperation, U.S., Japanese Leaders Say

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during the 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting co-hosted with Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosting Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, at the Department of State. Washington, D.C., Jan 11, 2023. DoD Photo

The 12th Marine Regiment will become the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment as the United States upgrades its forward-deployed forces in Japan, as part of an expansion of U.S. and...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/12/new-marine-littoral-regiment-key-to-expanded-pacific-security-cooperation-u-s-japanese-leaders-say

USS Chancellorsville Performs South China Sea FONOP, Draws Chinese Protests

Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) conducts routine underway operations in the South China Sea, Nov. 29, 2022. US Navy Photo

The Tuesday passage of a U.S. guided missile cruiser past a disputed island chain in the South China Sea has drawn protests from Beijing and claims that the People’s Liberation Army expelled the ship from Chinese territorial waters.

According to U.S. 7th Fleet, USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) sailed past the Spratly Island chain on Tuesday as...

https://news.usni.org/2022/11/29/uss-chancellorsville-performs-south-china-sea-fonop-draws-chinese-protests

INTERPOL: Fat Leonard Arrested in Venezuela Trying to Flee to Russia

Interpol Venezuela Image

After two weeks on the run, authorities in Venezuela arrested former defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis as he attempted to board a plane to Russia, officials said late Wednesday.

Francis was detained by Venezuelan authorities at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetía on Tuesday morning, Interpol Venezuela Director General Carlos Garate Rondon said in a post on Instagram.

Francis “had entered the country from Mexico with a stopover in Cuba to...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/22/interpol-fat-leonard-arrested-in-venezuela-trying-to-flee-to-russia

New Details Revealed in ‘Fat Leonard’ Escape, Detention as Manhunt Continues

U.S. Marshals wanted poster for Leonard Francis

An international manhunt continued Tuesday for Leonard Glenn Francis, a former defense contractor and convicted mastermind of a multimillion-dollar U.S. Navy corruption case who fled custody from home detention Sunday morning, just weeks before he was to be sentenced to federal prison.

Francis, a Malaysian national and the former president of Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia, was convicted in 2015 after taking a plea deal in exchange for...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/06/new-details-revealed-in-fat-leonard-escape-detention-as-manhunt-continues

USS Abraham Lincoln Return Marks End of Second High-Tempo Carrier Deployment in WESTPAC

An F-35C Lightning II, assigned to the ‘Black Knights’ of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, flies over USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) on July 30, 2022. US Navy Photo

ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, OFF THE COAST OF HAWAII – When aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) pulls into Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday, it will cap off a busy deployment to the Western Pacific.

Lincoln’s deployment saw the carrier largely operating in U.S. 7th Fleet, where it had the...

https://news.usni.org/2022/08/10/uss-abraham-lincoln-return-marks-end-of-second-high-tempo-carrier-deployment-in-westpac

Marines Pitching Service as Western Pacific Recon Asset for Combined Joint Force

Marine Corps Cpl. Alexander Tran, intelligence specialist with 1st Battalion, 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, launches a RQ-20B Puma at Pōhakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, July 20, 2022. US Marine Corps Photo

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII — As the Marine Corps reshapes its force for a future conflict in the Western Pacific, the service is refining how to meet the reconnaissance mission for the wider U.S. military.

The Marine Corps is a year away from the initial operational capability milestone for...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/28/marines-pitching-service-as-western-pacific-recon-asset-for-combined-joint-force

U.S. Destroyer Performs South China Sea FONOP; China Says it Expelled Warship

USS Benfold (DDG-65) sailing past the Paracel Islands on July 13, 2022. PLA Photo

A U.S. guided-missile destroyer passed near a South China Sea island chain claimed by China as part of a Freedom of Navigation operation and drew complaints from Beijing.

USS Benfold (DDG-65) sailed near the Paracel Islands early Wednesday local time in a FONOP and was monitored by the People’s Liberation Army Navy frigate Xianning (500), according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense.

“This freedom of navigation...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/13/u-s-destroyer-performs-south-china-sea-fonop-china-says-it-expelled-warship

Chinese Carrier Liaoning Strike Group Steaming Near Japan, Says MoD

Chinese ships operate off the coast of Japan on May 2, 2022. Japanese MoD Images

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) dispatched an eight-ship carrier group, led by the carrier CNS Liaoning (16) and accompanied by five destroyers, a frigate and a replenishment ship, into the Pacific Ocean via transit of the Miyako Strait Monday, marking the first time since December 2021 that the carrier has operated in the area.

The Joint Staff Office (JSO) of the Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF) issued a...

https://news.usni.org/2022/05/03/chinese-carrier-liaoning-strike-group-steaming-near-japan-says-mod

+ More