Throughout the nation’s proud history, the U.S. Navy has been a dutiful servant of the nation and its people, and a champion of American goals abroad. The U.S. Pacific Fleet has played an integral role in furthering those goals by providing a stabilizing influence in a vast ocean area during periods of tension and conflict.

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  The U.S. Pacific Fleet's contribution to our Navy's proud heritage dates back to 1821 with the establishment of the Pacific Squadron, the first permanent U.S. naval presence in the region. This small force confined its activities initially to the waters off South America, then expanded its scope to include the Western Pacific in 1835, when the East India Squadron joined the force. The extent of its responsibility was further enlarged in the 1850s when California and Oregon were annexed.

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• The importance of U.S. Pacific naval forces as an instrument of foreign policy blossomed in July 1853, when Commodore Matthew C. Perry delivered a letter from President Millard Fillmore seeking diplomatic and trade relations between the United States and Japan. Less than nine months later, in March 1854, Commodore Perry negotiated and signed a treaty between the two countries, opening Japan to trade with other nations for the first time in 300 years.

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• The Spanish-American War of 1898 resulted in further expansion of American naval power in the Pacific. Commodore George Dewey led America's Asiatic Squadron into Manila Bay for the first engagement of the war, on May 1, 1898. When the battle ended seven hours later, eight Spanish warships had been destroyed. Two months later, off the coast of Cavite, Philippines, Commodore Dewey issued the famous order, "You may fire when ready, Gridley," and dealt the final blow to the remaining Spanish fleet. This decisive victory left the United States in possession of former Spanish territory in the Philippines and the Mariana Islands. More importantly, it established the United States as a major maritime power.

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• The Asiatic and Pacific squadrons remained separate commands until April 15, 1907, when they were combined to form the United States Pacific Fleet. In 1922, the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets were combined to form the United States Fleet, which positioned a main body of ships in the Pacific and a scouting fleet in the Atlantic. For the first time, the major weight of American seapower was assigned to the Pacific.

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• The fragile peace during the years between the world wars began to whither in the late 1930s with the emergence of Germany and Japan as military threats. With the fall of France and England standing alone, the possibility of American involvement in the war saw the U.S. Navy again split into two separate fleets.

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• The Pacific Fleet established its new headquarters at Pearl Harbor on Feb. 1, 1941. Ten months later, on Dec. 7, Japanese warplanes attacked ships and installations at Pearl Harbor and elsewhere on Oahu without warning, thrusting America into World War II.

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• The war in the Pacific raised to glory some of history's finest naval commanders, legendary names including Nimitz, Halsey and Spruance. Likewise, America's most decisive blows toward total victory in World War II were struck here. This dark chapter in world history would finally end with the formal surrender of the Japanese aboard USS Missouri (BB 63).

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• Five years of peace following World War II came to an end on June 26, 1950, when North Korean troops attacked South Korea. The Pacific Fleet responded by providing air strikes from offshore aircraft carriers and conducting the amphibious assault at Inchon. Control of the seas once again gave U.S. and other United Nations forces the decisive advantage. A cease-fire signed on July 27, 1953, halted the fighting.

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• Following a decade of peaceful operations, the Pacific Fleet was again called to war, this time in Southeast Asia. By mid-1968 the Pacific Fleet was actively engaged in the Vietnam conflict, with 225 ships committed to operations in the South China Sea. In addition to providing air support from aircraft carriers operating off the coast, Pacific Fleet Sailors patrolled the Mekong River in gunboats. The Vietnam cease-fire was signed on Jan. 27, 1973.

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• In the post-Vietnam period, the Pacific Fleet increased operations with allied navies, thereby ensuring freedom of the seas for all nations. Pacific Fleet responsibilities expanded to include the Indian Ocean, where aircraft carrier battle groups operate in support of vital U.S. national interests in that volatile part of the world.

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• On Aug. 4, 1990, Pacific Fleet Navy and Marine Corps forces began deploying to the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea in support of Operation Desert Shield. More than 50 Pacific Fleet ships, including the USS Independence (CV 62), USS Midway (CV 41), USS Ranger (CV 61) and USS Missouri (BB 63) battle groups and approximately 20 amphibious ships, were ultimately deployed. The ships and personnel were initially used to support economic sanctions set up against Iraq after it invaded Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm began Jan. 16, 1991, after Iraq failed to meet a Jan. 15, 1991 deadline to leave Kuwait.

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• Ships of the USS Tarawa (LHA 1) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) demonstrated the flexibility of naval forces in May 1991. While returning from combat duty in the Persian Gulf, the Tarawa ARG served as the centerpiece of humanitarian relief operations in cyclone-devastated Bangladesh. In the summer of 1991, Seventh Fleet ships converged on the Philippines to evacuate U.S. military and families after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

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• During Operation Restore Hope in 1992-93, USS Rushmore (LSD 47) spearheaded a joint task force landing to provide humanitarian aid to drought-stricken Somalia. Naval forces also continued vital presence operations in the volatile Persian Gulf region, supporting Operation Southern Watch, which controlled and monitored airspace over Southern Iraq.

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• In December 1998, ships of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Carrier Battle Group and Carrier Air Wing 11 participated in Operation Desert Fox, striking key military targets in Iraq with a combination of attack aircraft and cruise missiles, launched from USS Antietam (CG 54), USS Princeton (CG 59),  USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) and other Pacific Fleet ships.

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• Following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001, Pacific Fleet units again answered the call. On Oct. 7, less than a month after the attack, aircraft from USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and surface ships conducted the first strikes on terrorist strongholds in Afghanistan, launching Operation Enduring Freedom. The following year, dozens of Pacific Fleet ships served in the Arabian Sea, including USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), USS Constellation (CV 64), USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

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• In January 2003, the Pacific Fleet deployed a seven-ship Amphibious Task Force West, led by USS Boxer (LHD 4) and USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), to the U.S. Central Command. In February, the Pacific Fleet also deployed the USS Kitty Hawk Battle Group there, to serve alongside the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Constellation Battle Groups in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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• More recently, the Pacific Fleet has taken on a larger role in providing humanitarian relief throughout the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln helped victims of the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami that devastated coastal areas from Indonesia to Africa. In 2006, USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) visited the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia and East Timor, providing much-needed medical service to thousands of people in those nations. In 2007, USS Peleliu (LHA 5) deployed on a similar Pacific Partnership mission, providing medical and dental services as well as public works construction work in the Philippines, Vietnam, the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands and Papua New Guinea.

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• Today the Pacific Fleet remains the world's largest naval command, extending from the West Coast of the United States to the eastern coast of Africa, from the North Pole to the South Pole, encompassing three oceans, six continents, and more than half the Earth’s surface.

• The approximately 178 ships, 1,500 aircraft and 160,000 Sailors, Marines and Civilians of the Pacific Fleet continue to be a credibly led, combat-ready and surge-ready Fleet prepared in peace, crisis or war. The U.S. Pacific Fleet builds trust and cooperation with our partners to advance Asia-Pacific regional security and prosperity.

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• (Source: US Navy Pacific Fleet Command - Hawaii )

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