Washington -- The United States has re-established the U.S. Fourth Fleet to enhance maritime security in the southern region of the Western Hemisphere, says the U.S. chief of naval operations, and also to provide expanded humanitarian assistance, maritime training and support.

"Re-establishing the Fourth Fleet recognizes the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, and signals our support and interest in the civil and military maritime services in Central and South America," Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said. "Our maritime strategy raises the importance of working with international partners as the basis for global maritime security. This change increases our emphasis in the region on employing naval forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests."

On July 12, the Navy officially re-established the Fourth Fleet in ceremonies at Naval Station Mayport in Florida almost six decades after it was absorbed by the Second Fleet. The fleet will provide U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) with the capabilities to strengthen existing partnerships with countries in Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

Rather than signaling a Navy expansion, the Fourth Fleet is an administrative organization -- it has no permanent vessels assigned. The command will be able to plan, coordinate and deploy a range of missions within its designated area of operations. The fleet’s missions include humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, support for maritime security and support for counternarcotics operations.

On a recent visit to Argentina, Thomas Shannon, the assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, confirmed to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner that the Fourth Fleet’s operations are “a tool of peace and security.”

MARITIME SECURITY AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

In a recent commentary appearing in the regional press of Latin America, Admiral James Stavridis, SOUTHCOM commander, wrote, “Maritime security is vitally important in a hemisphere of more than 30 countries, 400 million people and 15.6 million square miles of water.”

The Fourth Fleet provides SOUTHCOM with a way to respond to regional needs and regional commitments. It also demonstrates U.S. commitment to regional partners. The goal is to build confidence and trust among nations within the region through collective maritime efforts, the admiral said.

In a recent interview, Frank Mora, a professor at the National War College in Washington, said the revival of the Fourth Fleet was driven mainly by budgetary and command decisions inside the Pentagon, not by political developments in Latin America. He adds that the new command helps bring attention to progress that SOUTHCOM has made to engage partner nations and provide military training and technical support.

"Admiral Stavridis is trying to make a point of engaging more [of] Latin America on issues that have more to do with humanitarian [aid], disaster relief, and dealing more with the nontraditional threats we are seeing in the region," Mora said. Those nontraditional threats include environmental degradation and gang violence that are plaguing some Central American nations, Mora said.

The Fourth Fleet originally was established in 1943 and was in charge of protecting against raiders, blockade runners and enemy submarines in the South Atlantic during World War II.