ARLINGTON, Va. — Vice Adm. Gary Roughead has been given the nod to pin on a fourth star and take over the Navy’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
No stranger to the island, Roughead is currently the deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command — Pacific Fleet’s joint headquarters — in nearby Honolulu.
Nominated by the White House on Thursday, Roughead’s new assignment is pending Senate confirmation. If approved, he’ll take over from Adm. Walter Doran, who’s held the post since May 4, 2002.
The Pacific Fleet is one of the Navy’s largest commands, responsible for 191,000 sailors and Marines operating aboard 190 ships and submarines, 1,400 aircraft and bases scattered across 102 million square miles.
A 1973 Naval Academy graduate, Roughead rose up the ranks as a surface warfare officer. Sea commands have included the guided-missile destroyer Barry and the cruiser Port Royal, Cruiser Destroyer Group Two and the George Washington Battle Group. Most recently he led the 2nd Fleet in Norfolk, Va., before his latest assignment in Hawaii.
Also announced Thursday, Rear Adm. Barry M. Costello has been nominated to take over 3rd Fleet in San Diego, Calif. If approved by the Senate, he’ll pin on his third star and relieve Vice Adm. Michael J. McCabe. Costello is the Navy’s chief of legislative affairs at the Pentagon.
