Rear Adm. Michael "Buzz" Donnelly has been nominated to command the U.S. 7th Fleet at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. (Michael Jarmiolowski/U.S. Navy)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A familiar face may soon return here to lead the U.S. 7th Fleet, whose current commander is in line for a senior position at the Pentagon.
President Donald Trump nominated Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly for promotion to vice admiral and appointment as commander of 7th Fleet — the Navy’s largest overseas force — the Defense Department announced June 18.
If confirmed, Donnelly’s new position would mark at least his third senior Yokosuka-based command. He served as skipper of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan from 2016 to 2018 and led Carrier Strike Group 5 and Task Force 70 from 2021 to 2023.
The current head of 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, was nominated to become the next director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. The Joint Staff is responsible for assisting the Joint Chiefs of Staff — the highest levels of leadership in the U.S. military — in leading the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in a “unified strategic direction,” according to its website.
Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, has been nominated to serve as director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. 7th Fleet spokeswoman Cmdr. Megan Greene declined to comment on Donnelly’s nomination in a Wednesday email to Stars and Stripes.
Donnelly, of Kent Island, Md., is a veteran flight officer. As of 2021, he had logged more than 3,000 flight hours and 990 carrier landings in F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Super Hornets.
As 7th Fleet commander, he’d be responsible for the coordination of a force of up to 70 warships, 150 aircraft and more than 27,000 sailors.
Among the 7th Fleet’s subordinate commands are the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and its carrier strike group, which replaced the Ronald Reagan in November; Destroyer Squadron 15, a group of 10 Arleigh-Burke class destroyers; and Submarine Group 7, five Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast-attack vessels.
The nominations follow a flurry of other changes in the region, including additional command changes, ship rotations and security concerns.
The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli arrived Monday at Sasebo Naval Base to take its post as the lead ship of Amphibious Squadron 11.
The Tripoli — the newest and most advanced of the Navy’s America-class warships — replaced the USS America. Both ships are small flattops that can carry a variety of aircraft, including F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters, MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors and MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters.
Meanwhile, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on June 14 raised its force protection level, citing potential but unspecified real-world threats. The warning coincided with the escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict that as of Wednesday had reached a fragile ceasefire.
