John H. Sides - Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet

On June 1, 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Sides for promotion to admiral as commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT). Because of Sides' background, his appointment was interpreted as heralding a new emphasis on missile warfare. Sides relieved Admiral Herbert G. Hopwood on August 30. His command was responsible for guarding the Far East and the United States West Coast, and included the First Fleet, the Seventh Fleet, 400 ships, 3,000 aircraft, and half a million men.

Sides was CINCPACFLT during the early stages of American involvement in the Vietnam War. In November 1961, en route to Bangkok to repay a visit to Pearl Harbor by the commander in chief of Thailand's Navy, Sides stopped overnight in Saigon with his wife. Asked about rumors of Seventh Fleet units operating in Vietnamese waters, Sides replied, "The center of gravity of the Seventh Fleet is always near a troubled area," but declared there was "no intention" of using the Seventh Fleet "in the immediate future" in any role having to do with the Vietnamese crisis. "But I am not saying it could not happen."

As one of the few active four-star admirals, Sides was occasionally considered for other four-star jobs. In 1961, Newsweek handicapped his odds of succeeding Burke as chief of naval operations at 15-1. He was a candidate to replace Admiral Robert L. Dennison as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in 1963, but was passed over in favor of Admiral Harold Page Smith.

He was relieved by Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp, Jr. on September 30, 1963, and retired from the Navy on October 1.