Pearl Harbor may lose Roughead to Virginia

Bush nominates the Pacific chief for a Fleet Forces Command job

Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the Pearl Harbor-based U.S. Pacific Fleet since July 2005, has been nominated by President Bush to head the U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., the Pentagon said yesterday.

The Fleet Forces Command, once headed by Adm. William J. Fallon, the new top U.S. military officer for the Middle East, trains and equips sailors. It also keeps the chief of naval operations, the Navy's top uniformed officer, informed about the Navy's war-fighting and readiness.

The president nominated the current vice chief of naval operations, Adm. Robert F. Willard, to succeed Roughead, the Pentagon said.

President Bush has nominated the commander of the Pearl Harbor-based U.S. Pacific Fleet to head the U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., the Pentagon said yesterday.

Navy Adm. Gary Roughead has been the Pacific Fleet commander since July 2005.

"I am honored to be nominated to serve as the next commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and I am grateful for the confidence" of the president and the defense secretary, Roughead said in a statement. "In the meantime, I will remain focused on the Pacific Fleet as we continue to strengthen relationships and to contribute to regional security and stability."

The president nominated the current vice chief of naval operations, Navy Adm. Robert F. Willard, to succeed Roughead at Pearl Harbor, the Pentagon said.

The Senate must confirm both appointments.

As the top naval commander in the Pacific, Roughead made training sailors to hunt enemy submarines his top war-fighting priority.

The admiral also spearheaded the humanitarian deployment of the hospital ship USNS Mercy to war-ravaged areas of the southern Philippines and tsunami-devastated areas of Indonesia. The ship's mission came as the U.S. military has pushed to improve its image in predominantly Muslim nations and regions.

Roughead also worked with Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to support their efforts to police the Malacca Strait.

The narrow waterway had been the site of a series of pirate attacks in the past decade, creating concern that pirates or terrorists might disrupt the flow of trade in Asia.

Interruption of Malacca Strait trade could potentially affect the world economy, as about half the world's oil and more than a third of global trade passes through the area.

The Fleet Forces Command trains and equips sailors. It also keeps the chief of naval operations, the Navy's top uniformed officer, informed about the Navy's war-fighting and readiness.

Past fleet force commanders include former Pacific Commander Adm. William J. Fallon, who took over last week as the new top U.S. military officer for the Middle East.

Roughead, a 1973 Naval Academy graduate, moved to the Pacific Fleet from the U.S. Pacific Command, where he served as deputy commander.

The Pacific Fleet oversees more than 190,000 sailors and Marines and some 30,000 civilians. It includes more than 190 ships and 1,400 aircraft.

Willard, also a 1973 Navy Academy graduate, is a F-14 naval aviator who has commanded an aircraft carrier battle group from the USS Kitty Hawk. He has experience as the deputy commander and chief of staff for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He was formerly the U.S. Seventh Fleet commander, based in Yokosuka, Japan.