President Obama Defense Secretary Chuck Hagelhas picked the former head of the Japan-based 7th Fleet to lead the Pacific Fleet, which oversees ships from San Diego and Everett, Washington, to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean.
The Defense Department announced Thursday that Vice Adm. Scott Swift has been nominated to receive a fourth star and relieve Adm. Harry Harris as head of PACFLT. Harris is slated to become the head of U.S. Pacific Command, a four-star combatant commander post.
Swift, a San Diego State University grad, entered the Navy in 1979 via the Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate Program and is a career aviator and the current director of Navy staff, which oversees the various offices inside the chief of naval operation’s organization.
At 7th Fleet, Swift handled two international dust-ups. In January of 2013, he apologized to the Philippines for damage done to the protected Tubbataha Reef when the minesweeper Guardian ran aground on it. Swift also cracked down on liberty in 7th Fleet after a string of embarrassing incidents in Japan in 2012 — most of which involved alcohol.
He’ll take over from Harris, who has led Pacific Fleet during a time of tense relations with China over its territorial claims. Harris has also played a key role in rebuilding U.S. ties with the Philippines after years of frosty relations.
Swift will pick up where Harris leaves off: Engaging with China, overseeing the Navy’s pivot to the Pacific, and building maritime relationships with Pacific nations such as erstwhile foe the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Swift’s nomination now sits with the Senate.
