Vice Adm. Fred W. Kacher relieved Vice Adm. Karl O. Thomas because the 54th commander of the world’s largest forward-deployed naval drive, U.S. seventh Fleet.
“To the women and men of seventh Fleet, it has been my honest honor to guide this ahead deployed group as you demonstrated each day how skilled navies function to safe the maritime commons and uphold the foundations based mostly worldwide order,” mentioned Thomas. “To my counterparts in our ally and associate nations all through the area, your professionalism and friendship has been the best reward as we operated as one seamless group. I stay impressed by your dedication to sustaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Previous to commanding seventh Fleet, Thomas served because the assistant deputy chief of naval operations, plans, and technique, a task Kacher additionally held. Thomas started his profession as an E-2C Hawkeye aviator, and he commanded a provider airborne early warning squadron, two plane carriers and the forward-deployed Service Strike Group in Japan. His follow-on project would be the deputy chief of naval operations for info warfare.
In the course of the ceremony, Thomas emphasised the important significance of his shut relationships with fleet commander counterparts all through the Indo-Pacific. All through his tenure, Thomas led quite a few superior dual-carrier operations, multilateral occasions, important freedom of navigation operations, and Taiwan Straits transits, amongst different high-visibility workouts and operations with allies and companions from throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Vice Adm. Blake Converse, deputy commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, spoke extremely of Thomas’s visionary management and the significance of the rules-based worldwide order within the Indo-Pacific.
“Our nationwide command authority continues to acknowledge that that is an important and consequential theater that we function our forces in,” mentioned Converse. “As such, we have now grave duties to discourage aggression, to guard the worldwide rules-based order, and to make sure freedom of navigation.”
Kacher started his profession as a floor warfare officer aboard cruisers and destroyers. He was the primary commanding officer of the Arleigh Buke class guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106), and went on to function the commodore of Destroyer Squadron Seven, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Seven; government officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and Commander, U.S. European Command; and chief of employees to Commander, Naval Floor Pressure, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He most lately served because the performing Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.
“I couldn’t be extra humbled to guide the U.S. seventh Fleet,” mentioned Kacher. “I’m honored to re-join our ahead deployed women and men as we function fight credible naval forces in one of the crucial complicated maritime areas on this planet, and I look ahead to participating with our allied and associate navies in our shared dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
U.S. seventh Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet and routinely interacts and operates with allies and companions in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific area.
For extra information from Commander, U.S. seventh Fleet, go to https://www.c7f.navy.mil/.
