The Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) for submarine matters. The Pacific Submarine Force (SUBPAC) includes attack, ballistic missile and auxiliary submarines, submarine tenders, floating submarine docks, deep submergence vehicles and submarine rescue vehicles throughout the Pacific.
| Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet | |
|---|---|
 COMSUBPAC Emblem | |
| Active | 1914-Present |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Type Commander |
| Role | Advisory |
| Garrison/HQ | Pearl Harbor |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Rear Admiral Christopher J. Cavanaugh |
The Force provides anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, precision land strike, mine warfare, intelligence, surveillance and early warning and special warfare capabilities to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and strategic deterrence capabilities to the U.S. Strategic Command.[1]
COMSUBPAC's mission is to provide the training, logistical plans, manpower and operational plans and support and tactical development necessary to maintain the ability of the Force to respond to both peacetime and wartime demands.[2]
Submarines and Units
editThe units and submarines reporting to Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet are:[3]
Fleet Activities Yokosuka
editFleet Activities Yokosuka in Yokosuka, Japan is home to Submarine Group 7.[4]
Naval Station Pearl Harbor
editNaval Station Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, is home to the following submarine squadrons:
- Commander, Submarine Squadron 1 (CSS 1):[5]
- Commander, Submarine Squadron 7 (CSS 7):[6]
Naval Base Kitsap
editNaval Base Kitsap, in Bremerton, Washington, is home to Submarine Group 9 and the following submarine squadrons:[7]
- Commander, Submarine Squadron 17 (CSS 17):[8]
- Commander, Submarine Squadron 19 (CSS 19):[9]
- Los Angeles-class submarines:
- USS San Juan (SSN-751) (Active (Reserve), Awaiting decommissioning)
- USS Topeka (SSN-754) (Active (Reserve), Awaiting decommissioning)
- Ohio-class submarines:
- Los Angeles-class submarines:
- Commander, Submarine Development Squadron 5 (COMSUBDEVRON Five):[10]
- Commander, Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Group 1 (COMUUVGRU One)
- Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron One (UUVRON One)
- Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron Three (UUVRON Three)
Naval Base Point Loma
editNaval Base Point Loma, in San Diego, California, is home to the following submarine squadrons:
- Commander, Submarine Squadron 11 (CSS 11):[11]
Naval Base Guam
editNaval Base Guam, in Guam, is home to the following submarine squadrons:
- Commander, Submarine Squadron 15 (CSS 15):[12]
Naval Support Activity Bahrain
editNaval Support Activity Bahrain, in Guam, is home to the forward deployed Submarine Squadron 21 (CSS 21)[13]
Officers serving as COMSUBPAC
edit- Rear Admiral Wilhelm L. Friedell, 1939–1941
- Rear Admiral Thomas Withers, Jr., 1941–May 1942[14]
- Rear Admiral Robert H. English, May 1942–20 January 1943 (killed in an aircraft accident)
- Captain John H. "Babe" Brown (pro tem), 20 Jan 1943–1943
- Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, 1943–1946
- Rear Admiral Allan Rockwell McCann, 1946–1948
- Rear Admiral Oswald S. Colclough, 1948–1949
- Rear Admiral John H. "Babe" Brown, 1949–1951
- Rear Admiral Charles B. "Swede" Momsen, 1951–1953
- Rear Admiral George L. Russell, 1953–1955
- Rear Admiral Leon J. Huffman, 1955–1956
- Rear Admiral Elton W. "Joe" Grenfell, 1956–1959†
- Rear Admiral William E. "Pete" Ferrall, 1959–1960†
- Rear Admiral Roy S. "Ensign" Benson, 1960–1962†
- Rear Admiral Bernard A. "Chick" Clarey, 1962–1964†
- Rear Admiral Eugene B. "Lucky" Fluckey, 1964–1966†
- Rear Admiral John H. Maurer, 1966–1968†
- Rear Admiral Walter L. Small, 1968–1970†
- Rear Admiral Paul L. Lacy, Jr., 1970–1972 (Last WW2 submarine skipper in the job)
- Rear Admiral Frank D. McMullen, 1972-1975
- Rear Admiral Charles H. Griffiths, 1975-1977
- Rear Admiral William J. Cowhill, 1977-1979
- Rear Admiral Nils R. Thunman, 1979-1981
- Rear Admiral Bernard M. Kauderer, 1981-1983
- Rear Admiral Austin B. Scott, Jr., 1983-1985
- Rear Admiral James N. Darby, 1985-1987
- Rear Admiral Ralph W. West, Jr., 1987-1987
- Rear Admiral James G. Reynolds, 1987-1989
- Rear Admiral Michael C. Colley, 1989-1991
- Rear Admiral Henry C. McKinney, 1991-1993
- Rear Admiral Jon M. Barr, 1993-1996
- Rear Admiral Winford G. Ellis, 1996-1998[15]
- Rear Admiral Albert H. Konetzni, Jr., 1998-2001
- Rear Admiral John B. Padgett, III, 2001-2003
- Rear Admiral Paul F. Sullivan, 2003-2005
- Rear Admiral Jeffrey B. Cassias, 2005-2006
- Rear Admiral Joseph A. Walsh, 2006-2008
- Rear Admiral Douglas J. McAneny, 2008–2010
- Rear Admiral James F. Caldwell, Jr., 2010–2013
- Rear Admiral Phillip G. Sawyer, 2013–2015[16]
- Rear Admiral Frederick J. Roegge, 2015–2017
- Rear Admiral Daryl Caudle, 2017–2019
- Rear Admiral Blake L. Converse, 2019–2021[17]
- Rear Admiral Jeffrey T. Jablon, 2021–2023[18]
- Rear Admiral Richard E. Seif Jr., 2023–2025
- Rear Admiral Christopher J. Cavanaugh, 2025–present
† Wartime submarine skipper
See also
editReferences
edit- Blair, Clay (March 2001). Silent victory: the U.S. submarine war against Japan. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-217-X. (Google books online preview)
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- ^ "COMSUBPAC About Us". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 2011-06-01. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ "COMSUBPAC About Us". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 2011-06-01. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ "COMSUBPAC Submarines". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 2012-01-31. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ^ "Submarine Group 7". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "CSS-1 Submarines". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "CSS-7 Submarines". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "Submarine Group 9". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "CSS-17 Submarines". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "CSS-19 Submarines". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "Submarine Development Squadron 5: Submarines". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "Submarine Squadron 11 : Submarines & Other Commands". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "CSS-15 Submarines". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "Submarine Squadron 21". Commander, Submarine Force Pacific. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ On 7 December, COMSUBPAC was Admiral Thomas Withers, Jr., who relieved Wilhelm L. Friedell that fall. Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory (New York: Bantam, 1976), pp.83 & 223.
- ^ "Faculty - Naval Postgraduate School".
- ^ "Pacific Submarine Force Holds Change of Command". U.S. Navy. September 3, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-13. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ Hinton, MC1 Danial; Pacific, Submarine Force. "Pacific Submarine Force welcomes new commander". www.cpf.navy.mil. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Rear Admiral Jeffrey T. Jablon, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet". www.csp.navy.mil. Retrieved 2021-05-02.