CinCLantFltNorVa
Background
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT) was originally established on Jan. 1, 1906, by combining the Navy's North Atlantic and South Atlantic Squadrons. Since then, the command has remained a high-performance organization that continues its mission to support national defense.
Reorganization and the First Commander of U.S. Atlantic Command (1947)
The organization of the U.S. Armed Forces was reviewed after the turbulent war years. On Dec. 1, 1947, under a reorganization act of the armed forces approved by Congress, the unified U.S. Atlantic Command was established with headquarters co-located to those of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Adm. William H.P. Blandy, commander-in-chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, became the first commander-in-chief, U.S. Atlantic Command — a title that remained dual-hatted (and would later become triple hatted) — until another reorganization of the Armed Forces in 1985 under the Goldwater-Nichols Act, which separated U.S. Atlantic Command from U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Allied Command, Atlantic (1950-1985)
In the early 1950s, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) decided to establish a new central command — Allied Command, Atlantic — under the command of a U.S. four-star admiral with headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Since this was primarily a naval command responsible for the allied defense of the North Atlantic, the decision was made to co-locate this organization with the U.S. Atlantic Command and the U.S. Atlantic Fleet to form a tri-hatted command.
On April 10, 1952, Adm. Lynde D. McCormick, commander-in-chief of U.S. Atlantic Command and U.S. Atlantic Fleet, assumed the title of the first Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. Like U.S. Atlantic Command, Allied Command Atlantic remained intact and part of a tri-hatted command organization until a congressionally mandated reorganization of the U.S. Armed Forces occurred in 1985, which separated command of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet from the other two commands with its own four-star admiral.
Today
CinCLantFlt is known today as U. S. Fleet Forces Atlantic ↗.
CinCLantFlt as my first duty station
CinCLanFlt and SACLant bases were adjacent to one another with their own fenced enclosures.
CinCLant did not have living quarters, so I was assigned living quarters at NavStaNorVa (Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia) barracks a few miles north. A shuttle bus ran every half hour between NavSta and CinCLant. Because of the secretiveness of our work, it was suggested that CinCLant personnel enter and leave the base in civilian clothes.
IDs were checked at the NavSta Main Gate, when we boarded the shuttle bus, and again when we arrived at CinCLantFlt.
For security reasons, all personal mail was trucked to the local navy airbase, flown to New York, and postmarked to FPO (Fleet Post Office, New York, New York). Incoming mail was sent to an FPO box number, where it was sorted, put on a plane to Norfolk, and then delivered through our private mail facility.
Work schedules varied, but duty watches were usually
- 7-3pm (day watch - allowing me to get to the beach after work),
- 3-11pm (evening shift - still early enough to party after work), and
- 11-7am (midwatch - time to party before work)! LOL.
Even better, we would work three day watches in a row, three midwatches, three evening watches, and then have three days off. If there were a real emergency, we would double up: four hours on and four hours off or eight hours on and four hours off.
With a little planning, standing extra watches, or exchanging watch schedules, I could take seven or ten days off in a row. This allowed me to travel up and down the Atlantic Coast as long as I could return to the base within a reasonable amount of time.
I traveled to Virginia Beach to see my Aunt Dutch. I spent wonderful sun-filled days on the beach, drinking beach drinks and explaining to ladies what the Navy does.
I made several train trips to New York to visit all those wonderful places that no longer exist. Or I could take the streetcar and catch the Cape Charles ferry to Delaware. As soon as the ferry docked, I would hurriedly disembark, walk up the road aways, and hitchhike up the Coast.
On one occasion, I got a ride in a hearse that was returning empty to Connecticut. Someplace in Delaware, I fell asleep in the jump seat in the rear. The driver suggested I lay on the beir and catch a restful rest. We stopped (at a Howard Johnson rest stop) long enough to get something to eat. When I sat up in the back of the hearse, well ---
See also [ Klaw RCR ]
External links
https://www.usff.navy.mil/About-Us/History/
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root