By the way, Stars & Stripes funding is also in the NDAA. In addition to no pay for personnel, the newspaper would be out of money.

The Navy is resurrecting the 1st Fleet, a spokesman for the Navy secretary confirmed Thursday, days after the service’s top civilian leader called for a U.S. counterweight to rapidly growing Chinese military might in the Indo-Pacific region.

The “administrative requirements” to recommission the 1st Fleet “are in the final stages of coordination,” Capt. Jereal Dorsey, a spokesman for Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite, said in an email to Stars and Stripes.

Braithwaite is working with Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, Congress, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, Marine Corps Commandant Gen David Berger and other stakeholders on ensuring the Navy maintains its maritime dominance in an era of great power competition, Dorsey said.

The Navy secretary signaled U.S. intentions during a speech Nov. 17 at the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium.

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Navy pushes ahead with plans to stand up another numbered fleet in the Indo-Pacific