Commander Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet

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The Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific Fleet is a three-star US Navy command based at Naval Air Station North Island, California. COMNAVAIRPAC is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for all United States Navy naval aviation units assigned to the Pacific Fleet. NAVAIRPAC is responsible for the materiel readiness, administration, training, and inspection of units/squadrons under its command, and for providing operationally ready air squadrons and aircraft carriers to the fleet. Since 2001, COMNAVAIRPAC has been dual-hatted with COMNAVAIRFOR, Commander, Naval Air Forces, creating a lead-follow arrangement with his East Coast counterpart COMNAVAIRLANT.

In October 1919, Air Detachment, Pacific Fleet came into existence, making naval aviation formally part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.^[1] The original organization was divided into Landplane, Shipplane and Seaplane divisions. Within a brief period, the three divisions evolved into Fighting, Spotting and Seaplane Patrol Squadrons, respectively. The purpose of air detachments was: "attack on enemy aircraft, spotting gunfire for surface craft torpedo attack by torpedo planes, demolition, toxic gas and incendiary bomb attack, smoke and gas screen laying, mine and countermining; flare dropping; scouting reconnaissance, patrol and convoy duty; photography, mapping, detection of enemy coastal defenses and mail passenger service."^[1]

In June 1922 as part of a reorganization combining the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets into the U.S. Fleet, the detachment was renamed Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet. In 1933, another reorganization established two principal commands: Commander Aircraft Battle Force and Commander Tender-based Aircraft.

Commander, Air Pacific was established during World War II as the requirements of supporting air combat units widely deployed in the Pacific Ocean area increased.

Finding much inefficiency in the various administrative commands within naval aviation, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet directed a consolidation of various administrative functions for a more efficient command structure. This new command became Air Pacific Fleet, "to function as a Type Commander for fleet aircraft, to prepare general policy and doctrine for the operation of aviation units, to recommend the types, characteristics and numbers of aircraft required, and to carry out the strategic distribution of all air units in the Pacific area."^[1]

On July 29, 1942, Admiral Ernest King approved the recommendation and thus established Commander U.S. Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet (COMNAVAIRPAC), effective September 1, 1942. Vice Admiral John Henry Towers became its commander soon afterwards.

In May 1949, the headquarters was moved from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to Naval Air Station, North Island, California.