Commander Australian Fleet

Commander Australian Fleet
Active	1913–present
Country	Australia
Allegiance	Australian Defence Force
Branch	Royal Australian Navy
Garrison/HQ	Fleet Headquarters, Potts Point
Commanders
Current commander	Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer

Commander Australian Fleet (COMAUSFLT), also referred to as Fleet Commander Australia (FCAUST), is a senior appointment in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), holding full command of all Navy combat forces and responsibility for all maritime operations within the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The rank associated with the position is rear admiral (two-star).

The title first came into use in 2007. Previous titles for the position since 1913 have been:

• Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet (1913–1926),
• Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron (1926–1949),
• Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet (1949–1988, regularly abbreviated as FOCAF), and
• Maritime Commander Australia (1988–2007 – MCAUST).^(I)

History

Prior to 1913, all naval activities and forces in Australian waters were controlled by the British Royal Navy. In 1859, Australia Station was established as a separate command of the Royal Navy, responsible for all the waters around the Australian continent, in addition to the British and Australian colonial possessions in the South Pacific. It was at this stage that the forerunner of Commander Australian Fleet, Officer Commanding Imperial Squadron Australian Station, was created. Between the Federation of Australia and formation of the Commonwealth Naval Forces in 1901 to the year of 1913, the Royal Navy began a process of transferring all command responsibility in Australian waters over to the Australian Government, as well as replacing equipment and personnel with Australian variants. The Commonwealth Naval Forces were renamed to Royal Australian Navy in 1911. With the transfer complete in 1913, the position of Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet was formed, with control over all naval combat operations and forces; the post was renamed Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron in 1926. Despite this position being a command of the RAN, the majority of occupants were Royal Navy officers attached to, or on loan to, the RAN.^[1][2]

In 1949, Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron was redesignated Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet. This was followed by a renaming to Maritime Commander Australia in 1988, and more recently to Commander Australian Fleet in 2007.^[1][3] Throughout its existence, the command has administered Australian naval forces as they have been deployed for duty in the First World War, Second World War, Malayan Emergency, Korean War, Indonesian Confrontation, Vietnam War, Gulf War, War in Afghanistan and Iraq War, in addition to peacekeeping operations. The rank associated with this position today is rear admiral, however some of the earlier appointees held a different rank.^[1][2]

During the East Timor operations of 1999–2000, the then Maritime Commander Australia held the Task force designator Commander Task Force 627, which is probably still in use.^[4]

Role and responsibilities

The role and responsibilities of the Commander Australian Fleet is principally to "plan, prepare for, and conduct maritime operations for the protection and promotion of Australia's security and interests". With this directive, the operations carried out or planned by the Commander Australian Fleet or his staff fall into three distinct categories: defence of sovereign territory, protection of overseas trade and offshore resources, and contingencies.^[5]

The Commander Australian Fleet holds full command responsibility over RAN combat forces, and is responsible to the Chief of Navy—the administrative head of the RAN—for the execution of maritime tasks and training in regards to combat roles and operations. The Commander Australian Fleet additionally holds the role of Maritime Component Commander within Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC), responsible to the Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) as the head of naval activities within operational theatres.^[5][6]

The rear admiral's seagoing subordinate is Commodore, Warfare, previously Commodore, Flotillas (COMFLOT).^[7] This commodore is the designated ready task group commander.

Previous commanders

The following list chronologically records those who have held the post of Commander Australian Fleet or its preceding positions. However, the position of Officers Commanding Imperial Squadron Australian Station (1859–1913) is not included in this list as it was administered as a command of the Royal Navy, and existed before the formation of the Royal Australian Navy. The official title of the commander at that period of time is listed immediately before the officers who held that role. The rank and honours are as at the completion of the commander's term.^[1][8][9]

Footnotes

^(I) "HM" (His/Her Majesty's) is not always included when referring to these titles.

References