Dozens of civilian and military guests gathered to bid fair winds and following seas to Grady, as he departs after more than three years in command, and to welcome Caudle as the new commander.
Speakers commander, U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Adm. Charles Richard and commander, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) Gen. Glen VanHerck.
Adm. Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, presided over the ceremony and emphasized, “Adm. Grady’s leadership and innovation have brought to bear the full capability of the U.S. Navy in support of deterring our adversaries and assuring our allies and partners like never before. His visionary strategic approach is exactly what we need as we posture the joint force to meet today’s global challenges. I have full confidence that Adm. Caudle will pick up the ball and move it down the field.”
Grady, a native of Newport, Rhode Island, a career surface warfare officer and a 1984 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, assumed command of USFFC in May 2018. He is also the Navy’s “Old Salt”, a title and award that recognizes the extensive knowledge and expertise of the longest-serving surface warfare officer in the surface warfare community.
“As the commander of Naval Forces Northern Command, Adm. Grady remained laser focused on the persistent proximate threats and the homeland defense challenges our nation faces during this period of increased global strategic competition with peers and near peers,” said Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command. “Adm. Grady’s numerous command tours have defined the standard across the fleet and throughout the Department of Defense for operational capability, mission success and a relentless approach to readiness.”
Adm. Grady has been nominated by the White House to serve as the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Grady expressed his immense appreciation and pride to the Fleet Forces staff for the accomplishments they achieved under his charge.
"Fleet Forces command is involved in nearly every aspect of the force-force generation, force development, force employment and in generating readiness to provide combatant commanders the resources that they need to defend our national interests at home and abroad," said Grady. "Truly, the actions of every service member, government civilian, and contractor here at Fleet Forces, and across the waterfront, have played a critical role in supremely preparing the Navy and, to fight and win in today's strategic environment."
Grady emphasized that he is confident leaving the command in the best hands, "I have had the privilege of working with Daryl now for the past 12 years- and I can say without hesitation, as these two esteemed officers here have mentioned, there is no better qualified officer to lead USFFC into the future than him."
Caudle, a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a graduate of North Carolina State University, stated his enthusiasm on assuming command and his readiness to lead the team into the future.
Caudle joins the USFFC team after wrapping up his tour as the commander, U.S. Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Caudle is the 43rd commander of USFFC.
"Admiral Grady’s warfighting vision at Fleet Forces transformed our approach to fleet readiness, operationalized our team to support two Combatant Commanders, and protected our homeland in the maritime domain,” said Caudle. “I’m truly honored to continue to build on the successes of the Fleet Forces team, continuing to ensure our fleet is ready to bring lethality and integrated deterrence anytime, anywhere across the globe.”
USFFC is responsible for manning, training, equipping and employing more than 125 ships, 1,000 aircraft, and 103,000 active duty service members and government employees, and providing combat-ready forces forward to numbered fleets and combatant commanders around the globe in support of U.S. national interests. USFFC also serves as the Navy’s Service Component Commander to both U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Strategic Command, and providing naval forces in support of joint missions as Commander, Naval Forces Northern Command (NAVNORTH) and Commander, Naval Forces Strategic Command (NAVSTRAT). USFFC is the Strategic Command Joint Force Maritime Component Commander (JFMCC STRAT), and executes Task Force Atlantic in coordination with U.S. Naval Forces Europe.
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