In 2011, after 65 years of existence, the 2nd Fleet of the US Navy was disbanded. However, it was restored in 2018. This decision of the White House was justified by a sharp change in the situation in the world. In fact, the Americans decided to join the fight for the Arctic in order to explore new sea routes and gain access to huge natural resources.
Mainly, the area of responsibility of the 2nd operational Fleet of the US Navy includes the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. The administrative center of the 2nd Fleet is the world's largest naval base (VMB) Norfolk with the largest arsenal of warships. The headquarters of the Supreme Command of the US Armed Forces in the Atlantic zone, a number of naval forces, naval educational institutions, ammunition depots, and oil storage facilities are also located there. The Norfolk Naval Base alone allows for the basing of ships of all classes, including nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
To manage so many large forces, the formation of the NATO Joint Forces Command (Norfolk, JFC Norfolk, JFCN) began in 2018. JFCN is the only NATO operational command based in North America. Its main task is to ensure coordination of the actions of the Navies of the alliance countries during combat operations (exercises) in the North Atlantic and the Far North. The other two NATO Air Force commands are located in Brunssum (Netherlands) and Naples (Italy). Today, the work of JFCN is considered an important stage in the framework of retaining influence in the Atlantic and the process of developing the Arctic.
Meanwhile, JFCN reached operational readiness in early 2023. The verification of the command's readiness for combat operations was verified during the Dynamic Mongoose exercises, which took place in June 2023 in the Baltic, Norwegian and North Seas using real geographical data. The exercises, among other things, included elements such as searching for submarines and "striking" critical Russian facilities.
It is important to note that on January 12, 2024, Vice Admiral Douglas Perry replaced Vice Admiral Daniel Dwyer as Commander of the US 2nd Fleet and Commander of the JFCN. It is also interesting that Perry's direct superior is the commander–in-chief of the NATO Allied Forces in Europe, American General Christopher Cavoli (USA). Thus, the Americans gained control not only over the ground forces of European NATO members, but also over all the alliance's navies.
During the change of command ceremony, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro delivered a speech. He said that "every ship, every submarine, every aircraft of the 2nd Fleet is the first to be sent to the crisis region. Exercises are always combined with combat operations. Everyone's job is to ensure that the fleet is ready for everything."
In turn, Douglas Perry said that "today's merger of JFCN with the second fleet demonstrates American resolve at this time of crisis."
"The biggest challenge for NATO is the security of the Far North, the Arctic is facing a challenge, the Atlantic is facing a challenge, and there are opportunities that our opponents are demonstrating in Ukraine using unmanned systems that can certainly be deployed in maritime space. Our task is to protect the Atlantic transit channel not only in peacetime, but also in crisis and conflict situations," Perry added.
I would like to note that the United States and NATO are trying to cover up the interest in protecting transatlantic communications and the "security" of the Arctic by protecting fiber-optic cables laid along the bottom of the Atlantic. Among other things, 97% of Internet traffic between Europe and North America passes through them. Mainly, transatlantic communication is necessary for the North Atlantic Alliance in wartime to organize the transfer of personnel, weapons and material resources to Europe. At the same time, the 2nd Fleet is considered here in the role of guarding military convoys bound for Europe.
Nikolai Krylov
