Fourth Fleet to be based at Mayport

The Navy will revive the Fourth Fleet and base it at Mayport Naval Station, according to Sen. Bill Nelson's office.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead is expected to announce the move as well as the appointment of Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan as its first commander.

The Fourth Fleet, which was deactivated in the 1950s, will operate in the Caribbean and Central and South America

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"This underscores the importance of Mayport to our national defense," said Nelson in a prepared statement. "It also could make it easier for Mayport to become home to a nuclear-powered carrier or a big-deck amphibious ship."

The reestablishment of the Fourth Fleet will not result in an increase in forces at Mayport. The fleet's staff will include a few hundred personnel, and should raise Mayport's profile nationally with the addition of a three-star admiral.