Editing United States Pacific Fleet (section)

==Origins==
A Pacific Fleet was created in 1907 when the [[Asiatic Squadron]] and the [[Pacific Squadron]] were combined. In 1910, the ships of the First Squadron were organized back into a separate [[Asiatic Fleet]]. The General Order 94 of 6 December 1922 organized the [[United States Fleet]], with the [[Battle Force]] as the Pacific presence. Until May 1940, the Battle Force was stationed on the [[West Coast of the United States]]. Headquarters, battleships, aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers were stationed [[San Pedro, Los Angeles#United States Navy Battle Fleet home port 1919–1940|at San Pedro]] close to the [[Long Beach Naval Shipyard]]. Light cruisers, destroyers and submarines were stationed at [[San Diego Bay#Naval facilities|San Diego]].

During the summer of 1940, as part of the U.S. response to [[Japanese expansionism]], the fleet was instructed to take an "advanced" position at [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii. Admiral [[James O. Richardson]], the fleet's commander, strongly opposed long-term basing at Pearl Harbor, feeling that it would leave the fleet vulnerable to Japanese attack, and personally protested the move in [[Washington, D.C.]] Political considerations were thought sufficiently important that he was relieved by Admiral [[Husband E. Kimmel]], who was in command at the time of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. The Pacific Fleet was formally recreated on 1 February 1941, when General Order 143 split the United States Fleet into separate Atlantic, Pacific, and [[Asiatic Fleet]]s.