Middle East Force

United States Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT)
Active	1983–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Part of	United States Central Command
Headquarters	Naval Support Activity Bahrain
Website	www.cusnc.navy.mil
Commanders
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command; Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Forces Maritime Component Commander	Vice Admiral Kevin M. Donegan
Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command	Rear Admiral Eugene H. Black
Vice Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command	Rear Admiral Thomas Marotta
United Kingdom Maritime Component Commander.	Commodore Will Warrender, Royal Navy

United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the United States Fifth Fleet and several other subordinate task forces, including Combined Task Force 150, Combined Task Force 158 and others.

The Navy's post-World War II operations in the Persian Gulf began in 1948 when a series of U.S. task groups, led by the USS Valley Forge (CV-45), the USS Rendova (CVE-114), and Task Force 128 led by the USS Pocono (AGC-16) visited the Persian Gulf. On 20 January 1948, Commander-in-Chief, Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, Admiral Conolly, created Task Force 126 to supervise the large number of Navy fleet oilers and chartered tankers picking up oil in the Persian Gulf. By June 1949, the Task Force had become Persian Gulf Forces and on 16 August 1949 Persian Gulf Forces became Middle East Force.

In October 1948, Hydrographic Survey Group 1 arrived to help map the Persian Gulf's waters. Consisting of USS Maury, USS Dutton, USS John Blish, and USS Littlehales, the Group remained in the Persian Gulf until April 1949, but their efforts were limited by weather, logistics support and upkeep.

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