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United
States Navy
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Active
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Country
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Allegiance
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Type
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Role
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Power projection and crisis response
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Size
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325,143 active duty personnel[3]
107,355 reserve personnel[3] 275 ships[3] 3,700+ aircraft 10 aircraft carriers 10 amphibious assault ships 10 amphibious transport docks 12 dock landing ships 22 cruisers 62 destroyers 5 frigates 4 littoral combat ships 71 submarines |
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Part of
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Headquarters
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Motto
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Colors
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Blue, Gold [5]
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March
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Engagements
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List[show]
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Decorations
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Commanders
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The Honorable Ray Mabus
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MCPON Michael D. Stevens
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Insignia
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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. It was estimated to be larger than
the next 13 largest navies combined in terms of battle fleet tonnage in 2009.[6][7] The U.S. Navy also has the world's
largest aircraft carrier
fleet, with ten
nuclear carriers in service, along with two under construction,[8] and eight more planned. The service has
325,143 personnel on active duty and 107,355 in the Navy Reserve.
It has 275 ships in service and more than 3,700 aircraft as of March 2015.[3]
The U.S. Navy
traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during
the American
Revolutionary War and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity
shortly thereafter. It played a major role in the American Civil War
by blockading the Confederacy
and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in the World War II defeat of Japan. The 21st century
U.S. 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 U.S. 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. The Chief of Naval
Operations (CNO) is a four-star admiral and the senior naval officer
of the Department of the Navy.[9] However, the CNO may not be the highest
ranking naval officer in the armed forces if the Chairman
or the Vice
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Navy officers, who by law,
outrank the CNO.
