By WYATT OLSON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 6, 2021
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, a naval aviator who most recently commanded U.S. 5th Fleet and Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain, took the helm of U.S. Pacific Fleet during a ceremony Wednesday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
Paparo is a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School and has flown the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle and F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, among others, the Navy said in a news release.
Among his operational command tours at sea were Strike Fighter Squadron 195 at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan; command of Carrier Air Wing 7, which was embarked in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group; and command of Carrier Strike Group 10, according to his official biography.