In 2002, the Fleet comprised over 118,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel serving on 186 ships and in 1,300 aircraft, with an area of responsibility ranging over most of the Atlantic Ocean from the North Pole to the South Pole, the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Central and South America (as far west as the Galapagos Islands).

The first commander of the fleet was Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, who hoisted his flag in the battleship USS Maine (BB-10) on 1 January 1906.

The following year, he took his 16 battleships, now dubbed the Great White Fleet, on a round-the-world cruise that lasted until 1909, a goodwill tour that also served the purpose of advertising the United States' naval strength and reach to all other nations of the globe.

In January 1939 the Atlantic Squadron, United States Fleet, was formed,[9] with Vice Admiral Alfred Wilkinson Johnson commanded.

In July 1942, eight months after the United States entered the war, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's America and West Indies Station based at Admiralty House, Bermuda had his title changed to Senior British Naval Officer, Western Atlantic.

During World War II "Transports, Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet" was part of this command (ComTransPhibLant).

Smaller units included the Antisubmarine Development Detachment, Atlantic Fleet (ASDEVLANT) located at Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

But after a major reorganization of the U.S. armed forces structure following the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, CINCLANFLT was separated from the two other billets.

Major crises the Atlantic Fleet was involved in during the Cold War included the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the 1965 United States occupation of the Dominican Republic.

He also retained control of all naval components involved in tactical operations, as the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet.

[17] Major elements of the Strategic Army Corps were designated for use by ARLANT and placed in advanced alert status.

Logistic support for the more than 100,000 men involved was directed by a newly established Peninsula Base Command.

[17] From the late 1960s, nuclear ballistic missile submarines of the fleet began to make thousands of deterrent patrols.

More information on Anti-Submarine Warfare Force, Atlantic Fleet's, activities during the Cuban crisis can be found at the National Security Archive's document collections.

[21] The Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic was formed on 1 July 1975, incorporating a number of previously separate smaller commands – mine warfare vessels/units, service vessels, and frigates, destroyers and cruisers, along with associated destroyer squadrons and cruiser/destroyer groups.

As part of a reorganization announced in July 1995 of the Atlantic Fleet's surface combatant ships into six core battle groups, nine destroyer squadrons, and a new Western Hemisphere Group, USS John Hancock (DD-981) was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 24.

The two sets of staffs were formerly under the administrative authority of their respective air and surface U.S. Navy type commands.

This realignment allowed key operational leaders authority and direct access to the personnel required to more effectively accomplish the navy's mission.

Thus on 11 September 2009, it was announced that the carrier strike group deployment schedule would be changed to accommodate the delay in the return of the Enterprise from its current overhaul.

[25] Enterprise returned to Naval Station Norfolk on 19 April 2010 after completing its post-overhaul sea trials, signifying the beginning of its pre-deployment training cycle.

[28] Effectively this meant Task Force 20 (TF 20), under a deputy commander of the fleet, took over that mission.

[citation needed] Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015, the Optimized Fleet Response Plan will align carrier strike groups to a 36-month training and deployment cycle.

All required maintenance, training, evaluations, plus a single eight-month overseas deployment, are scheduled throughout this 36-month cycle in order to reduce costs while increasing overall fleet readiness.

This new plan streamlined the inspection and evaluation process while maintaining a surge capacity for emergency deployments.

Maritime Operations is organized into the following directorates:[37] The Maritime Headquarters (MHQ) leads all phases prior to the pre-deployment training cycle, including resourcing, policy development, assessment, procurement, and pre-introduction of naval units assigned to the Fleet Forces Command.