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US Navy reactivates Fourth Fleet to cover Latin waters
by the A.M. Costa Rica staff and special reports

The US Navy has reactivated the Fourth Fleet, a unit that has not been on the rolls since shortly after World War II.

The new fleet designation covers the waters around the Caribbean, and Central and South America and the surrounding waters. It joins five other geographical groups designated as fleets by the US Navy.

Joseph D. Kernan, a rear admiral who now is in charge of the Navy's Special Warfare Command (SEALS), will head the new fleet, the Navy said.

At the same time the Navy said that it was beginning a six-month deployment as part of Partnership of the Americas that includes nearly two months of participation by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and its strike group.

Part of the six-month partnership will be the annual multinational exercise focused on the defense of the Panama Canal, said the Navy.

The reconstitution of the new fleet, which will be based with the US Southern command in Mayport, Florida, is being interpreted as a response to potential terrorism and also to anti-US sentiment in some Latin countries.

The Navy said the Fourth Fleet demonstrates US commitment to regional partners.

Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said "Reconstituting the Fourth Fleet recognizes the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, and sends a strong signal to all the civil and military maritime services in Central and Latin America."

The US Fourth Fleet was originally established in 1943 as one of the original numbered fleets, and was given a specific mission, said the Navy.

During World War II, the United States needed a command in charge of protecting against raiders, blockade runners and enemy submarines in the South Atlantic, said the Navy. The US Fourth Fleet went out of service in 1950 when US Second Fleet took over its responsibilities.