Rear Adm. Greg Fenton, shown here as commanding officer speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in 2014, has been selected as the next commander of Naval Forces Japan and Navy Region Japan. (Matthew Riggs/U.S. Navy photo)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A former commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington will be returning to Yokosuka as commander of Naval Forces Japan and Navy Region Japan, the Defense Department announced Wednesday in Washington.
Rear Adm. Greg Fenton will assume the command, which includes oversight over installations and shore-based sailors in Japan, as well as planning and coordination with the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
A date for the command transfer has not yet been specified.
Fenton takes over for Rear Adm. Matthew Carter, who assumed command in 2015. No plans for Carter’s next assignment have been announced at this time, Navy officials in Japan said Thursday.
Fenton is serving as director of operations and plans in the Chief of Naval Operations office in Washington.
Fenton, of Grand Ledge, Mich., last served in Yokosuka in January 2015 as commander of George Washington. Later that year, the carrier returned to the United States and swapped crews with the USS Ronald Reagan, which is now homeported in Yokosuka.
Fenton also served as executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, commanded the amphibious transport dock USS Denver and served as chief of staff for Combined Joint Task Force — Horn of Africa before taking command of George Washington.
Fenton’s shore assignments include a flight instructor tour and another executing tests of the X-35C Joint Strike Fighter developmental aircraft, which has since developed into the F-35 aircraft.
