Pacific Fleet leader reveals unexpected retirement from Navy
SAN DIEGO — Passed over for higher command, U.S. Navy Adm. Scott Swift on Monday announced his unexpected retirement as commander of the Pacific Fleet.
“I have been informed by the Chief of Naval Operations that I will not be his nominee to replace Adm. (Harry) Harris as the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command,” Swift wrote in a prepared statement to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“In keeping with tradition and in loyalty to the Navy, I have submitted my request to retire. I do so with great appreciation and gratitude for the honor of having served so many sailors and their families for what will be 40 years in January.”
Traditionally, the Hawaiibased Pacific Fleet commander takes the helm of Pacific Command upon the retirement of its commander, but it’s not always the case. Adm. Samuel Jones Locklear III, the PACOM commander from 2012-15, had led naval forces in Europe and Africa.
The Pacific Fleet is the jewel of Navy commands, boasting 60 percent of the service’s warships. It includes the San Diego-based 3rd Fleet and the 7th Fleet, headquartered in Japan, plus all Navy aircraft and submarines in the Pacific Rim and shore commands in Korea and the Marianas.
Swift, 60, indicated that he tendered his retirement now out of “an abundance of respect and admiration” for Adm. John M. Richardson, the Chief of Naval Operations.
His retirement also aids Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis as they “face the challenge of selecting someone to step into the leadership role Adm. Harris has filled with such distinction over the last three years,” he wrote.
“I have not requested a retirement date as there is much work to be done here in the Pacific area of responsibility,” Swift wrote. “Whether my timeline of remaining service is six weeks or six months, I will fill that time with the energy of an ensign and the wisdom drawn from the 140,000 sailors who report for duty every morning in the Pacific Fleet.”