Adm. Thomas B. Fargo speaks at the change of command ceremony upon becoming the 20th Commander, U. S. Pacific Command (USPACOM). Seated in the rear are Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Meyers. Photo by TSgt. Paul Holcomb, USAF

Adm. Thomas B. Fargo became the 20th Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) in a change of command ceremony held on 2 May 02 in Hawaii, replacing Adm. Dennis C. Blair.

As the senior U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Adm. Fargo leads the United States’ largest geographical unified command. He directs the operations of approximately 300,000 U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force personnel across more than 100 million square miles (259 million square km) of the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. He is responsible to the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense through the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and is the United States’ military representative for collective defense arrangements in the Pacific.

Adm. Fargo has served in a variety of sea and shore assignments, including both joint and naval duties. His earlier naval duties were primarily as a submariner. At sea, his five assignments in attack and ballistic missile submarines included Executive Officer aboard USS Plunger (SSN 595) and Commanding Officer of USS Salt Lake City (SSN 716). Later, as a naval task force commander, he commanded Submarine Group SEVEN, Task Force SEVEN FOUR, and then commanded Task Force ONE SEVEN FIVE in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Gulf from 1992 to 1993.

Adm. Fargo commanded the U.S. FIFTH Fleet and the naval forces of the U.S. Central Command during two years of contingency operations against Iraq, 1996 to 1998. Before assuming command, he commanded the U.S Pacific Fleet from October 1999 to May 2002.

Since his promotion to flag rank in 1993, Adm. Fargo has served in such key shore assignments as the Director of Operations (J-3) for U.S. Atlantic Command during the Haiti intervention, Director of the Assessment Division (N-81) for the Chief of Naval Operations, and as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations (N3/N5).

A 1970 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Adm. Fargo earned the prestigious Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership from the Secretary of the Navy in 1989. Adm. Fargo’s decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (three awards), the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit (three awards).