Thomas tapped to be commander of US Fleet Forces Command
Vice Adm. Karl Thomas has been picked to lead U.S. Fleet Forces Command, DefenseScoop has learned.
According to a notice posted on Congress.gov, President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Thomas for promotion to the rank of four-star “while assigned to a position of importance and responsibility.” A congressional official and another source with knowledge of the selection told DefenseScoop that Thomas was tapped to be the next commander of Fleet Forces Command.
The nomination has been forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee for consideration.
Fleet Forces Command is responsible for training, certifying and providing combat-ready forces; commanding and controlling subordinate Navy forces and shore activities during the planning and execution of assigned service functions in support of the chief of naval operations; providing operational planning and coordination support to U.S. Northern Command, NORAD and U.S. Strategic Command; and planning and executing joint missions in partnership with Northcom, according to the Navy.
Thomas is currently serving as deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and director of naval intelligence. Prior to that, he commanded the Navy’s 7th Fleet in the Pacific.
In his current role, Thomas has highlighted the importance of achieving “decision advantage” in warfighting and harnessing information better than adversaries.
“To ensure that we maintain our warfighting advantage, our commanders have to have information and decision advantage. Our maritime operations centers is where we fuse that information. It’s where we make warfighting decisions, it’s where we outthink, it’s where we outmaneuver the adversary and where we generate orders to the fleet,” he said earlier this year during a panel at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference. “In all cases, the complexity and the speed of the fight will rely on us synthesizing vast amounts of information. The amount of information that is flowing now compared to what it was in the past is a tremendous order of magnitude difference.”
Thomas received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He later earned a master’s degree in information technology from the Naval Postgraduate School, according to his Navy bio.
He rose through the ranks of the service’s aviation community and has held a variety of roles during his career.
“A carrier aviator in the E-2C Hawkeye, he served at sea as a division officer in Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 114; as ship’s navigator aboard USS New Orleans (LPH 11) and USS Essex (LHD 2); as a department head in VAW 117; and as executive officer and commanding officer of VAW 117 during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” his Navy bio states. “After graduating nuclear power school, Thomas served as executive officer for both USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS George Washington (CVN 73), delivering the first permanently forward-deployed nuclear aircraft carrier to Japan. He commanded the U.S. 6th Fleet Command Ship, USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20); USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during the ship’s refueling complex overhaul (RCOH); and USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.”
Ashore, Thomas coordinated the Unmanned Air Systems Task Force in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
As a flag officer, he also directed the 21st Century Sailor Office, commanded Task Force 70, and served as assistant deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans and strategy, according to his Navy bio.
Vice Adm. John Gumbleton is currently serving as acting commander of Fleet Forces Command. The position was previously held by Adm. Daryl Caudle, who recently became chief of naval operations.
