United States Third Fleet

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Commander, U.S. Third Fleet
Third Fleet Logo
Active	15 March 1943 – 7 October 1945 1 February 1973 – present (51 years, 3 months)
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Type	Fleet
Part of	United States Pacific Fleet
Garrison/HQ	Naval Base Point Loma
Website	https://www.c3f.navy.mil/
Commanders
Commander	VADM Michael E. Boyle
Deputy Commander	RDML Richard W. Meyer
Chief of Staff	CAPT Randy Van Rossum
Command Master Chief	CMDCM H. Trenton Schmidt
Notable commanders	FADM William F. Halsey

The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering Sea, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and a sector of the Arctic. Major oil and trade sea lines of communication within this area are critically important to the economic health of the United States and friendly nations throughout the Pacific Rim region.^[1]

First established in 1943, the Third Fleet conducted extensive operations against Japanese forces in the Central Pacific during World War II. Deactivated in 1945, the fleet remained inactive until 1973, when it was reactivated and assumed its current responsibilities.