334,896 active duty personnel[3] 54,741 Navy Reserve personnel[4] 387,637 total uniformed personnel (official data as of 31 July 2023) 279,471 civilian employees (As of 2018[update])[5] 480ships total, of which 300 are deployable (As of 2019[update])[5] 2,623 aircraft (As of 2018[update])[6]
The United States Navy traces its origins to theContinental Navy, which was established during theAmerican Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. After suffering significant loss of goods and personnel at the hands of theBarbary pirates fromAlgiers, theUnited States Congress passed theNaval Act of 1794 for the construction ofsix heavy frigates, the first ships of the Navy. The United States Navy played a major role in theAmerican Civil War byblockading theConfederacy and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in theWorld War II defeat ofImperial Japan. The United States Navy emerged from World War II as the most powerful navy in the world. The modern United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the WesternPacific, theMediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. It is ablue-water navy with the ability toproject force onto thelittoral regions of the world, engage in forward deployments during peacetime and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it a frequent actor in American foreign and military policy.
To recruit, train, equip, and organize to deliver combat ready Naval forces to win conflicts and wars while maintaining security and deterrence through sustained forward presence.
— Mission statement of the United States Navy.[13]
The Navy's three primary areas of responsibility are:[14]
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,military tactics, technique, organization, and equipment ofnaval combat and service elements.
U.S. Navy training manuals state that the overall mission of the armed forces is "to be prepared to conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest." The Navy's five enduring functions are:sea control,power projection,deterrence,maritime security, andsealift.[15]
It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.
The Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders.[19] In the early stages of theAmerican Revolutionary War,Massachusetts had its ownMassachusetts Naval Militia. The rationale for establishing a national navy was debated in theSecondContinental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, and make it easier to seek support from foreign countries. Detractors countered that challenging the BritishRoyal Navy, then the world's preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in ChiefGeorge Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-goingschoonerUSSHannah to interdict British merchantmen and reported the captures to the Congress. On 13 October 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the purchase of two vessels to be armed for a cruise against British merchantmen; this resolution created theContinental Navy and is considered the first establishment of the U.S. Navy.[20] The Continental Navy achieved mixed results; it was successful in a number of engagements and raided many British merchant vessels, but it lost twenty-four of its vessels[21] and at one point was reduced to two in active service.[22] In August 1785, after the Revolutionary War had drawn to a close,Congress had soldAlliance, the last ship remaining in the Continental Navy due to a lack of funds to maintain the ship or support a navy.[23][24]
In 1972, the Chief of Naval Operations, AdmiralElmo Zumwalt, authorized the Navy to celebrate its birthday on 13 October to honor the establishment of the Continental Navy in 1775.[20][25]
The United States was without a navy for nearly a decade, a state of affairs that exposed U.S. maritime merchant ships to a series of attacks by theBarbary pirates. The sole armed maritime presence between 1790 and the launching of the U.S. Navy's first warships in 1797 was theU.S. Revenue-Marine, the primary predecessor of theU.S. Coast Guard. Although the United States Revenue Cutter Service conducted operations against the pirates, the pirates' depredations far outstripped its abilities and Congress passed theNaval Act of 1794 that established a permanent standing navy on 27 March 1794.[26] The Naval Act ordered the construction and manning ofsix frigates and, by October 1797,[21] the first three were brought into service:USS United States,USS Constellation, andUSS Constitution. Due to his strong posture on having a strong standing Navy during this period,John Adams is "often called the father of the American Navy".[27][28] In 1798–99 the Navy was involved in an undeclaredQuasi-War with France.[29] From 1801 to 1805, in theFirst Barbary War, the U.S. Navy defended U.S. ships from the Barbary pirates, blockaded the Barbary ports and executed attacks against the Barbary' fleets.
The U.S. Navy saw substantial action in theWar of 1812, where it was victorious in eleven single-ship duels with the Royal Navy. It proved victorious in theBattle of Lake Erie and prevented the region from becoming a threat to American operations in the area. The result was a major victory for the U.S. Army at theNiagara Frontier of the war, and the defeat of the Native American allies of the British at theBattle of the Thames. Despite this, the U.S. Navy could not prevent the British from blockading its ports and landing troops.[30] But after the War of 1812 ended in 1815, the U.S. Navy primarily focused its attention on protecting American shipping assets, sending squadrons to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, where it participated in theSecond Barbary War that ended piracy in the region, South America, Africa, and the Pacific.[21] From 1819 to the outbreak of the Civil War, theAfrica Squadron operated to suppress theslave trade, seizing 36 slave ships, although its contribution was smaller than that of the much larger British Royal Navy. After 1840 severalsecretaries of the navy were southerners who advocated for strengthening southern naval defenses, expanding the fleet, and making naval technological improvements.[31]
During theMexican–American War the U.S. Navy blockaded Mexican ports, capturing or burning the Mexican fleet in theGulf of California and capturing all major cities inBaja California peninsula. In 1846–1848 the Navy successfully used thePacific Squadron under CommodoreRobert F. Stockton and its marines and blue-jackets to facilitate the capture of California with large-scale land operations coordinated with the local militia organized in theCalifornia Battalion. The Navy conducted the U.S. military's first large-scale amphibious joint operation by successfully landing 12,000 army troops with their equipment in one day atVeracruz, Mexico. When larger guns were needed to bombard Veracruz, Navy volunteers landed large guns and manned them in the successful bombardment and capture of the city. This successful landing and capture of Veracruz opened the way for the capture of Mexico City and the end of the war.[30] The U.S. Navy established itself as a player inUnited States foreign policy through the actions ofCommodoreMatthew C. Perry in Japan, which resulted in theConvention of Kanagawa in 1854.
Naval power played a significant role during theAmerican Civil War, in which theUnion had a distinct advantage over theConfederacy on the seas.[30] AUnion blockade on all major ports shut down exports and the coastal trade, but blockade runners provided a thin lifeline. TheBrown-water navy components of the U.S. navy control of the river systems made internal travel difficult for Confederates and easy for the Union. The war sawironclad warships in combat for the first time at theBattle of Hampton Roads in 1862, which pittedUSS Monitor againstCSS Virginia.[32] For two decades after the war, however, the U.S. Navy's fleet was neglected and becametechnologically obsolete.[33]
A modernization program beginning in the 1880s when the first steel-hulled warships stimulated the American steel industry, and "the new steel navy" was born.[34] This rapid expansion of the U.S. Navy and its decisive victory over the outdatedSpanish Navy in 1898 brought a new respect for American technical quality. Rapid building of at first pre-dreadnoughts, thendreadnoughts brought the U.S. in line with the navies of countries such as Britain and Germany. In 1907, most of the Navy's battleships, with several support vessels, dubbed theGreat White Fleet, were showcased in a 14-month circumnavigation of the world. Ordered by PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, it was a mission designed to demonstrate the Navy's capability to extend to the global theater.[21] By 1911, the U.S. had begun building the super-dreadnoughts at a pace to eventually become competitive with Britain.[35] 1911 also saw the first naval aircraft with the navy[36] which would lead to the informal establishment ofUnited States Naval Flying Corps to protect shore bases. It was not until 1921US naval aviation truly commenced.
DuringWorld War I, the U.S. Navy spent much of its resources protecting and shipping hundreds of thousands of soldiers and marines of theAmerican Expeditionary Force and war supplies across the Atlantic inU-boat infested waters with theCruiser and Transport Force. It also concentrated on laying theNorth Sea Mine Barrage. Hesitation by the senior command meant that naval forces were not contributed until late 1917.Battleship Division Nine was dispatched to Britain and served as the Sixth Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet. Its presence allowed the British to decommission some older ships and reuse the crews on smaller vessels. Destroyers and U.S. Naval Air Force units like theNorthern Bombing Group contributed to the anti-submarine operations. The strength of the United States Navy grew under an ambitious ship building program associated with theNaval Act of 1916.
Naval construction, especially of battleships, was limited by theWashington Naval Conference of 1921–22, the first arms control conference in history. The aircraft carriersUSS Saratoga (CV-3) andUSS Lexington (CV-2) were built on the hulls of partially built battle cruisers that had been canceled by the treaty. TheNew Deal usedPublic Works Administration funds to build warships, such asUSS Yorktown (CV-5) andUSS Enterprise (CV-6). By 1936, with the completion ofUSS Wasp (CV-7), the U.S. Navy possessed a carrier fleet of 165,000 tonnesdisplacement, although this figure was nominally recorded as 135,000 tonnes to comply with treaty limitations.Franklin Roosevelt, the number two official in the Navy Department during World War I, appreciated the Navy and gave it strong support. In return, senior leaders were eager for innovation and experimented with new technologies, such as magnetic torpedoes, and developed a strategy calledWar Plan Orange for victory in the Pacific in a hypothetical war with Japan that would eventually become reality.[37]
The U.S. Navy grew into a formidable force in the years prior toWorld War II, with battleship production being restarted in 1937, commencing withUSS North Carolina (BB-55). Though ultimately unsuccessful, Japan tried to neutralize this strategic threat with the surpriseattack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. FollowingAmerican entry into the war, the U.S. Navy grew tremendously as the United States was faced with a two-front war on the seas. It achieved notable acclaim in thePacific Theater, where it was instrumental to the Allies' successful "island hopping" campaign.[22] The U.S. Navy participated in many significant battles, including theBattle of the Coral Sea, theBattle of Midway, theSolomon Islands Campaign, theBattle of the Philippine Sea, theBattle of Leyte Gulf, and theBattle of Okinawa. By 1943, the navy's size was larger than the combined fleets of all the other combatant nations in World War II.[38] By war's end in 1945, the U.S. Navy had added hundreds of new ships, including 18 aircraft carriers and 8 battleships, and had over 70% of the world's total numbers and total tonnage of naval vessels of 1,000 tons or greater.[39][40] At its peak, the U.S. Navy was operating 6,768 ships onV-J Day in August 1945.[41]
OnNavy Day, 27 October 1945, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp in honor of the Navy and the end of WW2.
Doctrine had significantly shifted by the end of the war. The U.S. Navy had followed in the footsteps of the navies of Great Britain and Germany which favored concentrated groups of battleships as their main offensive naval weapons.[42] The development of the aircraft carrier and its devastating use by the Japanese against the U.S. at Pearl Harbor, however, shifted U.S. thinking. The Pearl Harbor attack destroyed or took out of action a significant number of U.S. Navy battleships. This placed much of the burden of retaliating against the Japanese on the small number of aircraft carriers.[43] During World War II some 4,000,000 Americans served in the United States Navy.[44]
The potential for armed conflict with theSoviet Union during theCold War pushed the U.S. Navy to continue its technological advancement by developing new weapons systems, ships, and aircraft. U.S. naval strategy changed to that of forward deployment in support of U.S. allies with an emphasis on carrier battle groups.[45]
The U.S. Navy has also been involved in search and rescue/search and salvage operations, sometimes in conjunction with vessels of other countries as well as with U.S. Coast Guard ships. Two examples are the1966 Palomares B-52 crash incident and the subsequent search for missing hydrogen bombs, and Task Force 71 of the Seventh Fleet's operation in search forKorean Air Lines Flight 007, shot down by the Soviets on 1 September 1983.
The U.S. Navy continues to be a major support to U.S. interests in the 21st century. Since the end of the Cold War, it has shifted its focus from preparations for large-scale war with the Soviet Union to special operations and strike missions in regional conflicts.[46] The navy participated inOperation Enduring Freedom,Operation Iraqi Freedom, and is a major participant in the ongoingWar on Terror, largely in this capacity. Development continues on new ships and weapons, including theGerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier and theLittoral combat ship. Because of its size, weapons technology, and ability to project force far from U.S. shores, the current U.S. Navy remains an asset for the United States. Moreover, it is the principal means through which the U.S. maintains international global order, namely by safeguarding global trade and protecting allied nations.[47]
The strategy recognized the economic links of the global system and how any disruption due to regional crises (man-made or natural) can adversely impact the U.S. economy and quality of life. This new strategy charts a course for the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps to work collectively with each other and international partners to prevent these crises from occurring or reacting quickly should one occur to prevent negative impacts on the U.S.
In 2010, Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, noted that demands on the Navy have grown as the fleet has shrunk and that in the face of declining budgets in the future, the U.S. Navy must rely even more on international partnerships.[49]
In its 2013 budget request, the navy focused on retaining all eleven big deck carriers, at the expense of cutting numbers of smaller ships and delaying the SSBN replacement.[50] By the next year the USN found itself unable to maintain eleven aircraft carriers in the face of the expiration of budget relief offered by theBipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and CNOJonathan Greenert said that a ten ship carrier fleet would not be able to sustainably support military requirements.[51] The BritishFirst Sea LordGeorge Zambellas said that[52] the USN had switched from "outcome-led to resource-led" planning.[53]
One significant change in U.S. policymaking that is having a major effect on naval planning is thePivot to East Asia. In response, theSecretary of the NavyRay Mabus stated in 2015 that 60 percent of the total U.S. fleet will be deployed to thePacific by 2020.[54] The Navy's most recent 30-year shipbuilding plan, published in 2016, calls for a future fleet of 350 ships to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive international environment.[52] A provision of the 2018National Defense Authorization Act called for expanding the naval fleet to 355 ships "as soon as practicable", but did not establish additional funding nor a timeline.[55]
Organization of the United States Navy within the Department of Defense
The U.S. Navy falls under the administration of theDepartment of the Navy, under civilian leadership of the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The most senior naval officer is the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), a four-star admiral who is immediately under and reports to the Secretary of the Navy. At the same time, the Chief of Naval Operations is a member of theJoint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), though the JCS plays only an advisory role to the President and does not nominally form part of thechain of command. The Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations are responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Navy so that it is ready for operation under the commanders of theunified combatant commands.
Areas of responsibility for each of the United States Navy fleets.Tenth Fleet serves as the numbered fleet forU.S. Fleet Cyber Command and therefore is not shown.
The United States Navy has seven active numbered fleets –Second,Third,Fifth,Sixth,Seventh andTenth Fleets are each led by avice admiral, and theFourth Fleet is led by arear admiral. These seven fleets are further grouped under Fleet Forces Command (the former Atlantic Fleet), Pacific Fleet, Naval Forces Europe-Africa, and Naval Forces Central Command, whose commander also doubles as Commander Fifth Fleet; the first three commands being led by four-star admirals. TheUnited States First Fleet existed after World War II from 1947, but it was redesignated the Third Fleet in early 1973. The Second Fleet was deactivated in September 2011 but reestablished in August 2018 amid heightened tensions with Russia.[56] It is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, with responsibility over the East Coast and North Atlantic.[57] In early 2008, the Navy reactivated the Fourth Fleet to control operations in the area controlled by Southern Command, which consists of US assets in and around Central and South America.[58] Other number fleets were activated during World War II and later deactivated, renumbered, or merged.
In 1834, theUnited States Marine Corps came under the Department of the Navy.[61] Historically, the Navy has had a unique relationship with the USMC, partly because they both specialize in seaborne operations. Together the Navy and Marine Corps form the Department of the Navy and report to the Secretary of the Navy. However, the Marine Corps is a distinct, separate service branch[62] with its own uniformed service chief – the Commandant of the Marine Corps, a four-star general.
The Marine Corps depends on the Navy for medical support (dentists,doctors, nurses, medical technicians known ascorpsmen) and religious support (chaplains). Thus, Navy officers and enlisted sailors fulfill these roles. When attached to Marine Corps units deployed to an operational environment they generally wear Marine camouflage uniforms, but otherwise, they wear Navydress uniforms unless they opt to conform to Marine Corps grooming standards.[60]
In the operational environment, as an expeditionary force specializing in amphibious operations, Marines often embark on Navy ships to conduct operations from beyond territorial waters. Marine units deploying as part of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) operate under the command of the existing Marine chain of command. Although Marine units routinely operate from amphibious assault ships, the relationship has evolved over the years much as the Commander of the Carrier Air Group/Wing (CAG) does not work for the carrier commanding officer, but coordinates with the ship's CO and staff. Some Marine aviation squadrons, usually fixed-wing assigned to carrier air wings train and operate alongside Navy squadrons; they fly similar missions and often fly sorties together under the cognizance of the CAG. Aviation is where the Navy and Marines share the most common ground since aircrews are guided in their use of aircraft by standard procedures outlined in a series of publications known asNATOPS manuals.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter preparing to land on the flight deck of the amphibious assault shipUSS Wasp
TheUnited States Coast Guard, in its peacetime role with theDepartment of Homeland Security, fulfills its law enforcement and rescue role in the maritime environment. It providesLaw Enforcement Detachments (LEDETs) to Navy vessels, where they perform arrests and other law enforcement duties during naval boarding and interdiction missions. In times of war, the Coast Guard may be called upon to operate as a service within the Navy.[63] At other times, Coast GuardPort Security Units are sent overseas to guard the security of ports and other assets. The Coast Guard also jointly staffs the Navy's naval coastal warfare groups and squadrons (the latter of which were known as harbor defense commands until late-2004), which oversee defense efforts in foreign littoral combat and inshore areas.
The United States Navy has over 400,000 personnel, approximately a quarter of whom are in ready reserve. Of those on active duty, more than eighty percent areenlisted sailors and around fifteen percent arecommissioned officers; the rest aremidshipmen of the United States Naval Academy and midshipmen of theNaval Reserve Officer Training Corps at over 180 universities around the country and officer candidates at the Navy'sOfficer Candidate School.[5]
Enlisted sailors complete basic military training atboot camp and then are sent to complete training for their individualcareers.[64]
Sailors prove they have mastered skills and deserve responsibilities by completing Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS) tasks and examinations. Among the most important is the "warfare qualification", which denotes a journeyman level of capability in Surface Warfare, Aviation Warfare, Information Dominance Warfare, Naval Aircrew, Special Warfare, Seabee Warfare, Submarine Warfare or Expeditionary Warfare. Many qualifications are denoted on a sailor's uniform withU.S. Navy badges and insignia.
The uniforms of the U.S. Navy have evolved gradually since the first uniform regulations forofficers were issued in 1802 on the formation of the Navy Department. The predominant colors of U.S. Navy uniforms are navy blue and white. U.S. Navy uniforms were based on Royal Navy uniforms of the time and have tended to follow that template.[65]
Navy officers serve either as aline officer or as astaff corps officer. Line officers wear an embroidered gold star above their rank of the naval service dress uniform while staff corps officers and commissioned warrant officers wear uniquedesignator insignias that denotes their occupational specialty.[66][67]
Warrant and chief warrant officer ranks are held by technical specialists who direct specific activities essential to the proper operation of the ship, which also require commissioned officer authority.[68] Navy warrant officers serve in 30 specialties covering five categories. Warrant officers should not be confused with thelimited duty officer (LDO) in the Navy. Warrant officers perform duties that are directly related to their previous enlisted service and specialized training. This allows the Navy to capitalize on the experience of warrant officers without having to frequently transition them to other duty assignments for advancement.[69] Most Navy warrant officers are accessed from thechief petty officer pay grades, E-7 through E-9, analogous to a senior non-commissioned officer in the other services, and must have a minimum 14 years in service.[70]
Sailors in pay grades E-1 through E-3 are considered to be in apprenticeships.[71] They are divided into five definable groups, with colored group rate marks designating the group to which they belong: Seaman, Fireman, Airman, Constructionman, and Hospitalman.E-4 toE-6 arenon-commissioned officers (NCOs), and are specifically calledPetty officers in the Navy.[72] Petty Officers perform not only the duties of their specific career field but also serve as leaders to junior enlisted personnel. E-7 to E-9 are still considered Petty Officers, but are considered a separate community within the Navy. They have separate berthing and dining facilities (where feasible), wear separate uniforms, and perform separate duties.
After attaining the rate of Master Chief Petty Officer, a service member may choose to further their career by becoming aCommand Master Chief Petty Officer (CMC). A CMC is considered to be the senior-most enlisted service member within a command, and is the special assistant to theCommanding Officer in all matters pertaining to the health, welfare, job satisfaction, morale, use, advancement and training of the command's enlisted personnel.[73][74] CMCs can be Command level (within a single unit, such as a ship or shore station), Fleet level (squadrons consisting of multiple operational units, headed by a flag officer or commodore), or Force level (consisting of a separate community within the Navy, such as Subsurface, Air, Reserves).[75]
CMC insignia are similar to the insignia for Master Chief, except that the rating symbol is replaced by an inverted five-point star, reflecting a change in their rating from their previous rating (i.e., MMCM) to CMDCM. The stars for Command Master Chief are silver, while stars for Fleet, and gold stars for Force. Additionally, CMCs wear a badge, worn on their left breast pocket, denoting their title (Command/Fleet/Force).[74][76]
Insignia and badges of the United States Navy are military "badges" issued by the Department of the Navy to naval service members who achieve certain qualifications and accomplishments while serving on both active and reserve duty in the United States Navy. Most naval aviation insignia are also permitted for wear on uniforms of theUnited States Marine Corps.
As described in Chapter 5 of U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations,[77] "badges" are categorized asbreast insignia (usually worn immediately above and below ribbons) andidentification badges (usually worn at breast pocket level).[78] Breast insignia are further divided betweencommand andwarfare and other qualification.[79]
Insignia come in the form of metal "pin-on devices" worn on formal uniforms and embroidered "tape strips" worn on work uniforms. For the purpose of this article, the general term "insignia" shall be used to describe both, as it is done in Navy Uniform Regulations. The term "badge", although used ambiguously in other military branches and in informal speak to describe any pin, patch, or tab, is exclusive toidentification badges[80] and authorizedmarksmanship awards[81] according to the language in Navy Uniform Regulations, Chapter 5. Below are just a few of the many badges maintained by the Navy. The rest can be seen in the article cited at the top of this section:
The size, complexity, and international presence of the United States Navy requires a large number of navy installations to support its operations. While the majority of bases are located inside the United States itself, the Navy maintains a significant number of facilities abroad, either in U.S.-controlled territories or in foreign countries under aStatus of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
There is also a naval base in Charleston, South Carolina. This is home to the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, under which reside the Nuclear Field "A" Schools (for Machinist Mates (Nuclear), Electrician Mates (Nuclear), and Electronics Technicians (Nuclear)), Nuclear Power School (Officer and Enlisted); and one of two Nuclear Power Training Unit 'Prototype' schools. The state of Florida is the location of three major bases,NS Mayport, the Navy's fourth largest, inJacksonville, Florida;NAS Jacksonville, a Master Air Anti-submarine Warfare base; andNAS Pensacola; home of the Naval Education and Training Command, the Naval Air Technical Training Center that provides specialty training for enlisted aviation personnel and is the primary flight training base for Navy and Marine CorpsNaval Flight Officers and enlistedNaval Aircrewmen. There is alsoNSA Panama City, Florida which is home to the Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Diving (CENEODIVE) and the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center andNSA Orlando, Florida, which home to the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD).
TheWashington Navy Yard in Washington, DC is the Navy's oldest shore establishment and serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U.S. Navy, home to the Chief of Naval Operations and numerous commands.
The U.S. Navy's largest complex isNaval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, which covers 1.1 million acres (4,500 km2) of land, or approximately one-third of the U.S. Navy's total land holdings.[5]
Naval Base San Diego, California is the main homeport of the Pacific Fleet, although its headquarters is located inPearl Harbor, Hawaii.NAS North Island is located on the north side ofCoronado, California, and is home to Headquarters for Naval Air Forces and Naval Air Force Pacific, the bulk of the Pacific Fleet's helicopter squadrons, and part of the West Coastaircraft carrier fleet.NAB Coronado is located on the southern end of the Coronado Island and is home to the navy's west coast SEAL teams and special boat units. NAB Coronado is also home to theNaval Special Warfare Center, the primary training center for SEALs.
The other major collection of naval bases on the west coast is inPuget Sound,Washington. Among them,NS Everett is one of the newer bases and the navy states that it is its most modern facility.[83]
NAS Fallon, Nevada serves as the primary training ground for navy strike aircrews and is home to theNaval Strike Air Warfare Center. Master Jet Bases are also located atNAS Lemoore, California, andNAS Whidbey Island, Washington, while the carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft community and major air test activities are located atNAS Point Mugu, California. The naval presence in Hawaii is centered onNS Pearl Harbor, which hosts the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet and many of its subordinate commands.
Guam, an island strategically located in the Western Pacific Ocean, maintains a sizable U.S. Navy presence, includingNB Guam. The westernmost U.S. territory, it contains a natural Deepwater harbor capable of harboring aircraft carriers in emergencies.[citation needed] Its naval air station was deactivated[citation needed] in 1995 and its flight activities transferred to nearbyAndersen Air Force Base.
Puerto Rico in the Caribbean formerly housedNS Roosevelt Roads, which was shut down in 2004 shortly after the controversial closure of the live ordnance training area on nearbyVieques Island.[5]
The largest overseas base is theUnited States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, which serves as the home port for the navy's largest forward-deployed fleet and is a significant base of operations in the Western Pacific.[citation needed]
As of 2018[update], the navy operates over 460 ships (including vessels operated by theMilitary Sealift Command), 3,650+ aircraft, 50,000 non-combat vehicles and owns 75,200 buildings on 3,300,000 acres (13,000 km2).
The names of commissioned ships of the U.S. Navy are prefixed with the letters "USS", designating "United States Ship".[85] Non-commissioned, civilian-manned vessels of the navy have names that begin with "USNS", standing for "United States Naval Ship". The names of ships are officially selected by the secretary of the navy, often to honor important people or places.[86] Additionally, each ship is given a letter-basedhull classification symbol (for example, CVN or DDG) to indicate the vessel's type and number. All ships in the navy inventory are placed in theNaval Vessel Register, which is part of "the Navy List" (required by article 29 of theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).[dubious –discuss] The register tracks data such as the current status of a ship, the date of its commissioning, and the date of its decommissioning. Vessels that are removed from the register prior to disposal are said to bestricken from the register. The navy also maintains areserve fleet of inactive vessels that are maintained for reactivation in times of need.
In early 2010, the U.S. Navy had identified a need for 313 combat ships but could only afford 232 to 243 ships.[88] In March 2014, the Navy started counting self-deployable support ships such as minesweepers, surveillance craft, and tugs in the "battle fleet" to reach a count of 272 as of October 2016,[89][90] and it includes ships that have been put in "shrink wrap".[91] The number of ships generally ranged between 270 and 300 throughout the late 2010s.[92] As of February 2022, the Navy has 296 battle force ships, however analyses state the Navy needs a fleet of more than 500 to meet its commitments.[93][94]
Aircraft carriers act asairbases forcarrier-based aircraft. They are the largest vessels in the Navy fleet and all are nuclear-powered.[92] An aircraft carrier is typically deployed along with a host of additional vessels, forming acarrier strike group. The supporting ships, which usually include three or fourAegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers, a frigate, and two attack submarines, are tasked with protecting the carrier from air, missile, sea, and undersea threats as well as providing additional strike capabilities themselves. Ready logistics support for the group is provided by a combined ammunition, oiler, and supply ship. Modern carriers arenamed after American admirals and politicians, usually presidents.[95]
The Navy has a statutory requirement for a minimum of 11 aircraft carriers.[96] All 11 carriers are currently active, tenNimitz-class and oneGerald R. Ford-class.
Aircraft Carrier Capacity
Aircraft Carriers have the ability to house 5,000 people. This is the size of a small town floating in the ocean. Aircraft carriers also have up to 90 aircraft on the ship at one time.
Amphibious assault ships are the centerpieces of US amphibious warfare and fulfill the same power projection role as aircraft carriers except that their striking force centers on land forces instead of aircraft. They deliver, command, coordinate, and fully support all elements of a 2,200-strongMarine Expeditionary Unit in an amphibious assault using both air and amphibious vehicles. Resembling small aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships are capable ofV/STOL,STOVL,VTOL, tiltrotor, and rotary wing aircraft operations. They also contain awell deck to support the use ofLanding Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) and other amphibious assault watercraft. Recently, amphibious assault ships have begun to be deployed as the core of anexpeditionary strike group, which usually consists of an additionalamphibious transport dock anddock landing ship for amphibious warfare and an Aegis-equipped cruiser and destroyer, frigate, and attack submarine for group defense. Amphibious assault ships are typically named after World War II aircraft carriers.
Amphibious transport docks are warships that embark, transport, and land Marines, supplies, and equipment in a supporting role during amphibious warfare missions. With a landing platform, amphibious transport docks also have the capability to serve as secondary aviation support for an expeditionary group. All amphibious transport docks can operate helicopters, LCACs, and other conventional amphibious vehicles while the newerSan Antonio class of ships has been explicitly designed to operate all three elements of the Marines' "mobility triad":Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles (EFVs), theV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and LCACs. Amphibious transport docks are typically named after U.S. cities.
The dock landing ship is a medium amphibious transport that is designed specifically to support and operate LCACs, though it is able to operate other amphibious assault vehicles in the United States inventory as well. Dock landing ships are normally deployed as a component of an expeditionary strike group's amphibious assault contingent, operating as a secondary launch platform for LCACs. All dock landing ships are named after cities or important places in U.S. and U.S. Naval history.[95]
Cruisers are large surface combat vessels that conduct anti-air/anti-missile warfare, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and strike operations independently or as members of a larger task force. Modern guided missile cruisers were developed out of a need to counter theanti-ship missile threat facing the United States Navy. This led to the development of theAN/SPY-1 phased array radar and theRIM-67 Standard missile with the Aegis combat system coordinating the two.Ticonderoga-class cruisers were the first to be equipped with Aegis and were put to use primarily as anti-air and anti-missile defense in a battle force protection role. Later developments ofvertical launch systems and theTomahawk missile gave cruisers additional long-range land and sea strike capability, making them capable of both offensive and defensive battle operations. TheTiconderoga class is the only active class of cruiser. All cruisers in this class are named after battles.[95]
Destroyers are multi-mission medium surface ships capable of sustained performance in anti-air, anti-submarine, anti-ship, and offensive strike operations. Like cruisers, guided missile destroyers are primarily focused on surface strikes using Tomahawk missiles and fleet defense through Aegis and the Standard missile. Destroyers additionally specialize in anti-submarine warfare and are equipped withVLA rockets andLAMPS Mk III Sea Hawk helicopters to deal with underwater threats. When deployed with a carrier strike group or expeditionary strike group, destroyers and their fellow Aegis-equipped cruisers are primarily tasked with defending the fleet while providing secondary strike capabilities. With very few exceptions, destroyers are named after U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard heroes.[95]
Modern U.S.frigates mainly perform anti-submarine warfare for carrier and expeditionary strike groups and provide armed escort for supply convoys and merchant shipping. They are designed to protect friendly ships against hostile submarines in low to medium threat environments, using torpedoes and LAMPS helicopters. Independently, frigates are able to conduct counterdrug missions and other maritime interception operations. As in the case of destroyers, frigates are named after U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard heroes.
In late 2015, the U.S. Navy retired its most recent class of traditional frigates in favor of the littoral combat ship (LCS), relatively small vessels designed for near-shore operations that was expected to assume many of the duties the frigate had with the fleet. The LCS was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeatinganti-access andasymmetric threats in thelittorals",[98] although their ability to perform these missions in practice has been called into question.[99] The Navy has announced it plans to reduce procurement of the LCS and retire early examples of the type.
Mine countermeasures vessels are a combination ofminehunters, a naval vessel that actively detects and destroys individualnaval mines, andminesweepers, which clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of the mines. MCM vessels have mostly legacy names of previous US Navy ships, especially World War II-era minesweepers.
The U.S. Navy operates three types of submarines:attack submarines,ballistic missile submarines andguided missile submarines. All current and planned U.S. Navy submarines are nuclear-powered, as nuclear propulsion allows for a combination of stealth and long-duration, high-speed, sustained underwater movement.
Attack submarines typically operate as part of acarrier battle group, whileguided missile submarines generally operate independently and carry larger quantities of cruise missiles. Both types have several tactical missions, including sinking ships and other subs, launchingcruise missiles, gathering intelligence, and assisting in special operations. Ballistic missile submarines operate independently with only one mission: to carry and, if called upon, to launch theTrident nuclear missile.
The Navy operates 69 submarines, 29Los Angeles class attack submarines (with two more in reserve), 18Ohio class submarines with 14 configured as ballistic missile submarines and four configured as guided missile submarines, threeSeawolf class attack submarines, and 19Virginia class attack submarines.
A special case is theUSS Constitution, commissioned in 1797 as one of the original six frigates of the United States Navy and which remains in commission at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. She occasionally sails for commemorative events such asIndependence Day.
Carrier-based aircraft are able to strike air, sea, and land targets far from a carrier strike group while protecting friendly forces from enemy aircraft, ships, and submarines. In peacetime, aircraft's ability to project the threat of sustained attack from a mobile platform on the seas gives United States leaders significant diplomatic and crisis-management options. Aircraft additionally provide logistics support to maintain the navy's readiness and, through helicopters, supply platforms with which to conductsearch and rescue,special operations, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and anti-surface warfare, including the U.S. Navy's premier Maritime Strike and only organic ASW aircraft, the venerable Sikorsky MH-60R operated byHelicopter Maritime Strike Wing.
The U.S. Navy began to research the use of aircraft at sea in the 1910s, with Lieutenant Theodore G. "Spuds" Ellyson becoming the first naval aviator on 28 January 1911, and commissioned its first aircraft carrier,USS Langley (CV-1), in 1922.[100] United States naval aviation fully came of age in World War II, when it became clear following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea, and the Battle of Midway that aircraft carriers and the planes that they carried had replaced the battleship as the greatest weapon on the seas. Leading navy aircraft in World War II included theGrumman F4F Wildcat, theGrumman F6F Hellcat, the ChanceVought F4U Corsair, theDouglas SBD Dauntless, and theGrumman TBF Avenger. Navy aircraft also played a significant role in conflicts during the following Cold War years, with theF-4 Phantom II and theF-14 Tomcat becoming military icons of the era. The navy's current primary fighter-attack airplane is the multi-missionF/A-18E/F Super Hornet. TheF-35C entered service in 2019.[101] The Navy is also looking to eventually replace its F/A-18E/F Super Hornets with theF/A-XX program.
The Aircraft Investment Plan sees naval aviation growing from 30 percent of current aviation forces to half of all procurement funding over the next three decades.[102]
Current U.S. Navy shipboard weapons systems are almost entirely focused on missiles, both as a weapon and as a threat. In an offensive role, missiles are intended to strike targets at long distances with accuracy and precision. Because they are unmanned weapons, missiles allow for attacks on heavily defended targets without risk to human pilots. Land strikes are the domain of the BGM-109 Tomahawk, which was first deployed in the 1980s and is continually being updated to increase its capabilities. For anti-ship strikes, the navy's dedicated missile is theHarpoon Missile. To defend against enemy missile attack, the navy operates a number of systems that are all coordinated by the Aegis combat system. Medium-long range defense is provided by the Standard Missile 2, which has been deployed since the 1980s. The Standard missile doubles as the primary shipboard anti-aircraft weapon and is undergoing development for use in theater ballistic missile defense. Short range defense against missiles is provided by thePhalanx CIWS and the more recently developedRIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile. In addition to missiles, the navy employsMark 46,Mark 48, andMark 50torpedoes and various types of naval mines.
Naval fixed-wing aircraft employ much of the same weapons as theUnited States Air Force for both air-to-air and air-to-surface combat. Air engagements are handled by the heat-seekingSidewinder and the radar guidedAMRAAM missiles along with theM61 Vulcan cannon for close range dogfighting. For surface strikes, navy aircraft use a combination of missiles, smart bombs, and dumb bombs. On the list of available missiles are theMaverick,SLAM-ER andJSOW. Smart bombs include the GPS-guidedJDAM and the laser-guidedPaveway series. Unguided munitions such as dumb bombs andcluster bombs make up the rest of the weapons deployed by fixed-wing aircraft.
Rotary aircraft weapons are focused on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and light to medium surface engagements. To combat submarines, helicopters use Mark 46 and Mark 50 torpedoes. Against small watercraft, they useHellfire andPenguin air to surface missiles. Helicopters also employ various types of mounted anti-personnel machine guns, including theM60,M240,GAU-16/A, andGAU-17/A.
Nuclear weapons in the U.S. Navy arsenal are deployed through ballistic missile submarines and aircraft. TheOhio-class submarine carries the latest iteration of theTrident missile, a three-stage,submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) withMIRV capability; the current Trident II (D5) version is expected to be in service past 2020.[103] The navy's other nuclear weapon is the air-deployedB61 nuclear bomb. The B61 is a thermonuclear device that can be dropped by strike aircraft such as the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet at high speed from a large range of altitudes. It can be released through free-fall or parachute and can be set to detonate in the air or on the ground.
The currentnaval jack of the United States is theUnion Jack, a small blue flag emblazoned with the stars of the 50 states. The Union Jack was not flown for the duration of the War on Terror, during which Secretary of the NavyGordon R. England directed all U.S. naval ships to fly theFirst Navy Jack. While Secretary England directed the change on 31 May 2002, many ships chose to shift colors later that year in remembrance of the first anniversary of theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks. The Union Jack, however, remained in use with vessels of the U.S. Coast Guard andNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A jack of similar design to the Union Jack was used in 1794, with 13 stars arranged in a 3–2–3–2–3 pattern. When a ship is moored or anchored, the jack is flown from thebow of the ship while the ensign is flown from thestern. When underway, the ensign is raised on the mainmast. Before the decision for all ships to fly the First Navy Jack, it was flown only on the oldest ship in the active American fleet, which is currentlyUSS Blue Ridge. U.S. Navy ships and craft returned to flying the Union Jack effective 4 June 2019. The date for reintroduction of the jack commemorates the Battle of Midway, which began on 4 June 1942.[104]
During World War I the first U.S. government post offices were established aboard Navy ships, managed by a Navy postal clerk. Prior to this, mail from crew members was collected and at the first opportunity was dropped off at a port of call where it was processed at a US Post Office. Before the arrival of email and the internet, hand stamped mail was the only way Navy crew members at sea could communicate with their family, friends and others. Mail was considered almost as valuable to crew members as food and ammunition.[110] Sometimes mail from various crew members (referred to by historians and collectors aspostal history), is directly associated with naval history.[111] Letters and other correspondence sent by commanders, officers and crew members can include names, ranks, signatures, addresses, and ship's postmarks which can often confirm dates and locations of naval ships and crew members during various battles or other naval operations. As such, naval mail can serve as a source of information to naval historians and biographers. Among the more notable examples of Naval postal history include letters sent from theUSSArizona, before and on 7 December 1941.[112][113][114]
Cover mailed from USSArizona, 10 October, 1941, 30 days before theattack on Pearl Harbor
Cover mailed from USSOklahoma, signed by Admiral John Wainwright, US Navy, postmarked 5 March 1932
There is a US naval post office aboard nearly every US Navy ship, each with its own postal officer and postmark bearing the ship's name.
^"Customs and Traditions, Navy".History.Navy.mil. United States Navy.Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved27 August 2022.The official Navy colors are blue and gold
^"Launching the New U.S. Navy, 27 March 1794". National Archives and Records Administration Center for Legislative Archives Records of the U.S. Senate Record Group 46. 15 August 2016.Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved1 July 2017.
^Wood, Gordon S. (2017).Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Penguin Press.ISBN978-0-7352-2471-1.
^Karp, Matthew J. "Slavery and American Sea Power: The Navalist Impulse in the Antebellum South."The Journal of Southern History, vol. 77, no. 2, 2011, p. 317.JSTOR websiteArchived 12 January 2023 at theWayback Machine Retrieved 12 Jan. 2023.
^Dater, Henry M. (1950). "Tactical Use of Air Power in World War II: The Navy Experience".Military Affairs.14 (4). Society for Military History:192–200.doi:10.2307/1982840.JSTOR1982840.
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