Navy Rear Adm. Thomas E. Shultz Nominated for Promotion to Rear Admiral
Shultz commands Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN, Task Force 76 and the Amphibious Force, SEVENTH Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan, the Department of War said.
Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Thomas E. Shultz was nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral, the Department of War announced July 16, 2026.
Shultz currently serves as commander of Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN, commander of Task Force 76 and commander of the Amphibious Force, SEVENTH Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan, according to war.gov. The posting places him at the center of amphibious and expeditionary operations across the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed theater. A promotion to rear admiral would mark his elevation from the one-star lower half of the flag ranks to the two-star grade.
The nomination advances to the Senate, which confirms flag officer appointments before they take effect. A date for a confirmation vote has not been announced.
Flag officer nominations move through the Senate Armed Services Committee and then the full chamber. The process fixes the seniority, pay grade and command eligibility of the Navy’s senior leaders. For a forward-deployed commander in Japan, confirmation would cement authority over forces that operate closest to potential flashpoints in the Western Pacific.
The announcement lands amid a busy year for flag officer movement. This nomination is one of 109 officer nominations announced so far this year, according to Department of War records. Hawaii leads all states with 10 total nominations, while the Army has the most among the military services with 74. At the same point in 2025, the database recorded only 26 officer nominations, and the previous nomination announcement came 43 days earlier.
For the average reader, the change carries no direct effect on daily life. Senior naval commands in the Pacific shape U.S. posture toward allies and rivals in a region that carries much of the world’s seaborne trade, and the officers who lead those commands set the tempo of American presence there.
Has this happened before? It has, and routinely. The Senate confirms hundreds of military nominations each session, and expeditionary strike group commands in the SEVENTH Fleet have long served as proving grounds for officers on the path to higher rank. The pattern reflects a promotion system that rewards forward-deployed command experience.
The next decision rests with the U.S. Senate, which will schedule and hold a confirmation vote. The Department of War did not specify a timeline, and a date has not been announced.
The SEVENTH Fleet has anchored American naval power in the Pacific for generations. Established in March 1943 during World War II, it directed amphibious landings across the Southwest Pacific under Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid and fought at Leyte Gulf in October 1944, one of the largest naval battles in history. The fleet has since remained forward-deployed in Japan, and the commanders who have risen through its ranks have often carried that combat lineage into the Navy’s highest posts.
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