The world’s largest fleet command welcomed a new commanding officer into the fold on Thursday, when Adm. John Aquilino assumed command of U.S. Pacific Fleet during a ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham.
He replaces Adm. Scott Swift, who announced his retirement last fall after being passed over as the next head of U.S. Pacific Command.
Swift spoke of his love for the Navy during his speech, according to a Navy release.
“To finish my career here, in the Pacific Fleet, the only Fleet I have ever sailed in, headquartered in the city I was born in, in the harbor of my father’s first command, doing what I love is something dreams are made of,” he said.
Aquilino arrives at the Hawaii-based command after a brief stint as head of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, which he took command of in September.
He comes to Pacific Fleet as the military pivots to counter resurgent Russian forces, an ascendant Chinese military and the ever-present threat of North Korea.
“A great power competition has reemerged as the central challenge to security and prosperity against our nation,” he said at the ceremony. “Nowhere are the stakes of that great power competition higher than here in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The fleet’s purview stretches from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle, and from the West Coast to the Indian Ocean.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
