United States Navy

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United States Navy
United States Navy portal
Active	October 13, 1775[1]–Present
Country	United States
Branch	Navy
Size	433,500 personnel 289 ships 3,700+ aircraft 11 Aircraft carriers 10 Amphibious assault ships 9 Amphibious transport docks 12 Dock landing ships 22 Cruisers 55 Destroyers 30 Frigates 71 Submarines
Part of	Department of Defense Department of the Navy
Headquarters	The Pentagon
Motto	"Honor, Courage, Commitment" "Non sibi sed patriae" (Not self but country) (unofficial)[2]
Colors	Blue, Gold
March	Anchors Aweigh
Engagements	Revolutionary War Quasi-War Barbary Wars War of 1812 Mexican-American War American Civil War Spanish-American War World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam War Persian Gulf War Operation Allied Force Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom Anti-Piracy in Somalia
Decorations	Presidential Unit Citation Navy Unit Commendation Meritorious Unit Commendation
Commanders
Chief of Naval Operations	ADM Gary Roughead
Vice Chief of Naval Operations	ADM Jonathan W. Greenert
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy	MCPON (SS/SW) Rick D. West
Aircraft flown
Attack	F/A-18A/B/C/D, F/A-18E/F
Electronic warfare	E-2C, EP-3E, E-6, EA-6B, EA-18G
Fighter	F/A-18A/B/C/D, F/A-18E/F
Helicopter	UH-1, SH-3, CH-53D, MH-53E, SH-60B/F, HH-60H, MH-60R/S
Patrol	P-3, P-8
Reconnaissance	RQ-2
Trainer	F-5, F-16N, T-2C, T-6, T-34, T-39, T-44, T-45, TH-57
Transport	C-2, C-12, C-20, C-40, C-130

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. In August 2010, the U.S. Navy had 330,729 personnel on active duty and 102,923 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 289 ships in active service and more than 3,700 aircraft.^[3] The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined.^[4] The U.S. Navy also has the world's largest carrier fleet, with 11 in service and one under construction.

The Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary WarUnited States Constitution provided the legal basis for a military force by giving Congress the power "to provide and maintain a navy".^[5] and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. The

Depredations against American shipping by Barbary Coast pirates in the Mediterranean Sea spurred Congress to employ this power by passing the Naval Act of 1794 ordering the construction and manning of six frigates.^[6] These ships were used to end most pirate activity off the Barbary Coast. In the twentieth century American blue-water navy capability was demonstrated by the 1907–1909 world tour of the Great White Fleet.

The 21st century United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in such areas as East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. It is a blue water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward areas during peacetime, and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it an active player in American foreign and defense policy.

The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, which is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Navy. The Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. Traditionally, the highest ranking Naval officer is the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead. However, today the highest ranking Naval Officer is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, AdmiralMichael Mullen.

Contents [show] 1 Mission 2 History 2.1 Origins 2.2 From reestablishment to the Civil War 2.3 20th century 2.4 21st century 3 Organization 3.1 Operating forces 3.2 Shore establishments 3.3 Military Sealift Command 3.4 Naval Special Warfare Command 3.5 Relationships with other service branches 3.5.1 United States Marine Corps 3.5.2 United States Coast Guard 4 Personnel 4.1 Commissioned officer 4.2 Chief Warrant Officer 4.3 Enlisted sailors 4.4 Uniforms and appearance 5 Bases 5.1 Eastern United States 5.2 Western United States and Hawaii 5.3 United States territories 5.4 Foreign countries 6 Equipment 6.1 Ships 6.1.1 Aircraft carriers 6.1.2 Amphibious warfare vessels 6.1.3 Surface vessels 6.1.4 Submarines 6.1.5 Historically significant vessels 6.2 Aircraft 6.2.1 Weapons 7 Special warfare 8 Naval Expeditionary Combat Command 9 Naval Jack 10 Notable sailors 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

[edit] Mission

The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.

—Mission statement of the United States Navy^[7]

From the New Recruits Handbook:

The mission of the United States Navy is to protect and defend the right of the United States and our allies to move freely on the oceans and to protect our country against her enemies.

The United States Navy serves as a seaborne branch of the Military of the United States. 10 U.S.C. § 5062 prescribes the navy's three primary areas of responsibility:

• "The preparation of naval forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war"
• "The maintenance of naval aviation, including land-based naval aviation, air transport essential for naval operations and all air weapons and air techniques involved in the operations and activities of the Navy"
• "The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, and equipment of naval combat and service elements".

U.S. Navy training manuals state the mission of the U.S armed forces is "to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest". As part of that establishment, the U.S. Navy's functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to "sealift" duties.^[8]

• USS Arizona (BB-39) was a Pennsylvania-class battleship, best known for her cataclysmic and dramatic sinking, with the loss of 1,177 lives, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the event that brought about U.S. involvement in World War II. The USS Arizona Memorial is constructed over the shattered hull, which still contains the remains of most of the crew. It is commonly—but incorrectly—believed that Arizona remains perpetually in commission, likely because naval vessels entering Pearl Harbor render honors to the remains of the vessel.
• USS Enterprise (CV-6), a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier, was the most decorated U.S. warship in World War II, earning 20 of 22 possible battle stars. She was the only ship outside of the British Royal Navy to earn the Admiralty Pennant, the highest award of the British, in the more than 400 years since its creation.
• USS Missouri (BB-63), an Iowa-class battleship, was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II. She was also the last battleship built by the United States. In 1955, she was decommissioned and assigned to the inactive reserve fleet (the "Mothball Fleet"), but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and fought in the 1991 Gulf War. Decommissioned in 1995, she was the last actively serving battleship in the world. She was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association in 1998 and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, moored facing the USS Arizona.
• USS Nautilus (SSN-571), a submarine commissioned in 1954, was the world's first nuclear-powered ship. It demonstrated its capabilities by traveling 62,562 miles (100,684 km), more than half of which was submerged, in two years before having to refuel while breaking the record for longest submerged voyage, as well as being the first submarine to transit submerged under the North Pole in 1958.^[65]
• USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was a neutral United States Navy technical research ship, attacked by Israeli jet fighter planes and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War while in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula.
• USS Skate (SSN-578), a nuclear-powered submarine commissioned in 1957, was the first ship to physically reach the North Pole when she surfaced there in 1958.
• USS Triton (SSRN-586), a nuclear-powered submarine commissioned in 1959, made the first submerged circumnavigation of the world during its shakedown cruise in 1960, as well as being the only non-Soviet submarine to be powered by two nuclear reactors.
• USS George Washington (SSBN-598), commissioned in 1959, was the first ever ballistic missile submarine.
• USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was the first nuclear-powered surface warship in the world when she was commissioned in 1961 and signaled a new era of United States naval weaponry by being the first large ship in the Navy to have guided missiles as its main battery.
• USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier when she was commissioned in 1961.
• USS Pueblo (AGER-2) was boarded and seized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) on 23 January 1968 and is still under Korean control. The ship remains in commission to this day.
• USS Stark (FFG-31) was struck on May 17, 1987 by two Exocet antiship missiles fired from an Iraqi Mirage F1 fighter during the Iran–Iraq War becoming the victim of the only successful anti-ship missile attack on a U.S. Navy warship.
• USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate which struck an Iranian mine on 14 April 1988, severely damaging, and nearly sinking her, resulting in ten injured sailors, but no fatalities. The ship suffered flooding, fires, and a broken keel, which normally is fatal to the ship, but damage control efforts saved the ship. The attack resulted in the launching of Operation Praying Mantis. The ship is still in active service.
• USS Vincennes (CG-49) is a Ticonderoga-class AEGIS equipped guided missile cruiser. In 1988, the ship shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 civilian passengers onboard including 38 non-Iranians and 66 children.
• USS Cole (DDG-67) On 12 October 2000, while at anchor in Aden, Yemen, the Cole was attacked by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers, who sailed a small boat near the destroyer and detonated explosive charges. The blast created a hole in the port side of the ship about 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, killing 17 crewmembers and injuring 39.
• USS Olympia (C-6) was a protected cruiser during the Spanish-American War. She is most notable for being the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay. Olympia is the world's oldest steel warship still afloat. She also carried the Unknown Soldier to the United States after the First World War.

 

Naval Jack

First and current U.S. Naval Jack

Former U.S. Naval Jack

The Lone Sailor at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington D.C.

The current naval jack of the United States is the First Navy Jack, traditionally regarded as having been used during the American Revolutionary War. On 31 May 2002, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England directed all U.S. naval ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism. Many ships chose to shift colors later that year on the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The previous naval jack was a blue field with 50 white stars, identical to the canton of the ensign (the flag of the United States) both in appearance and size, and continues to remain in use with vessels of the U.S. Coast Guard. A jack of similar design was used in 1794, though with 13 stars arranged in a 3–2–3–2–3 pattern. When a ship is moored or anchored, the jack is flown from the bowstern. When underway, the ensign is raised on the mainmast. The First Naval Jack, however, has always been flown on the oldest ship in the active American fleet, currently the USS Constitution. of the ship while the ensign is flown from the

[edit] Notable sailors

John Paul Jones, America's first well-known navy hero.

Main article: List of United States Navy people

Many past and present United States historical figures have served in the Navy. Notable officers include John Paul Jones, John Barry (Continental Navy officer and first flag officer of the United States Navy),^[76] James Lawrencelast words "don't give up the ship" are memorialized in Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy), Oliver Hazard Perry, Commodore Matthew Perry (whose Black Ships forced the opening of Japan), and Chester Nimitz, Admiral of the Pacific Fleet in World War II. (whose

A number of presidents served in the Navy before their political careers, including John F. Kennedy (who commanded the famous PT-109), Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush. Both Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt were the Assistant Secretary of the Navy prior to their presidencies. Many members of Congress served in the Navy, notably U.S. Senators John McCain and John Kerry. Other notable former members of the U.S. Navy include astronauts, entertainers, authors, and professional athletes such as David Robinson, and Roger Staubach.

•