United States Navy

The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. The U.S. Navy consists of 281 ships and over 4,000 aircraft. It has over half a million men and women on active or ready reserve duty.

The United States Navy can trace its origins to the Continental Navy, which the Continental Congress established during the American Revolutionary War. The United States Constitution, ratified in 1789, empowered Congress "to provide and maintain a navy." Acting on this authority, Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates; one of the original six, USS Constitution, familiarly known as "Old Ironsides," survives to this day.

The War Department administered naval affairs from that year until Congress established the Department of the Navy on April 30, 1798. The Navy became part of the Department of Defense upon its establishment in 1947. The United States Navy has about 375,500 men and women.

History of the Navy

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Main article: History of the United States Navy

The Continental Navy was established in Philadelphia by the Continental Congress on October 13, 1775, which authorized the procurement, fitting out, manning, and dispatch of two armed vessels to search for munitions ships supplying the British Army in America. The legislation also established a Naval Committee to supervise the work. The Continental Navy operated some 50 ships over the course of the American Revolutionary War, but no more than about 20 at one time. After the war, Congress sold the surviving ships and released the seamen and officers.

Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates on March 27, 1794, and three years later welcomed into service the first three: USS United States, Constellation and Constitution. The frigates became famous in the War of 1812, where they unexpectedly defeated British Royal Navy forces several times.

During the American Civil War, the Navy was an innovator in the use of ironclad warships, but after the war slipped into obsolescence. A modernization program beginning in the 1880s brought the U.S. into the first rank of the world's navies by the beginning of the 20th century.

The Navy saw little action during World War I, but grew into a formidable force in the years before World War II. Japan unsuccessfully attempted to allay this strategic threat with a late-1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. During the next three years, the U.S. Navy grew into the most powerful in the world. It is widely accepted that currently the United States Navy remains the most powerful in the world.

Organization

The Navy is administered by the Department of the Navy, led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The senior naval officer, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), is the four-star admiral immediately under the Secretary of the Navy. At the same time, the Chief of Naval Operations is one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is the second-highest deliberatory body of the armed forces after the National Security Council, although it only plays an advisory role to the President and does not nominally form part of the chain of command. The Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations are responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Navy so the Navy is ready for operation under the command of the Unified Combatant Commanders. (Also see United States Armed Forces Organization.)

                           President
                               |
                             SECDEF
                               |
                     ------------------------
                     |                      |
                   SECNAV                   |
                     |                      |
                    CNO          Unified Combatant Commanders    
                     |                      |
             --------------------           |
             |                  |           |
   Shore establishment       Operating    Forces (including fleets)

Fleets

The two main fleets are the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet. Under these two organizations fall the numbered fleets.

• 1st Fleet - no longer active
• 2nd Fleet – Atlantic Ocean — Flagship Iwo Jima, Norfolk, Virginia
• 3rd Fleet – Eastern and Northern Pacific Ocean — Flagship Coronado, San Diego, California (In peacetime the Third Fleet has no ARG and the carriers in the area are either on their way to the Seventh Fleet or conducting training cruises, after an overhaul for example.)
• 4th Fleet – Disbanded.
• 5th Fleet – Middle East — Headquartered at Manama, Bahrain
• 6th Fleet – Mediterranean Sea — Flagship Mount Whitney, Gaeta, Italy
• 7th Fleet – Western Pacific and Indian Ocean — Flagship Blue Ridge, Yokosuka, Japan

Shore commands

In addition to afloat fleets, the Navy maintains several "Naval Forces Commands" which operate naval shore facilities and serve as liaison units to local ground forces of the Air Force and Army. Such commands are answerable to a Fleet Commander as the shore protector component of the afloat command. During times of war, all Naval Forces Commands augment to become task forces of a primary fleet.

Some of the larger Naval Forces Commands include:

• Commander Naval Forces Korea (CNFK)
• Commander Naval Forces Marianas (CNFM)
• Command Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ)

Staff corps

In addition to the regular line commands of the navy, several staff corps are also maintained which augment the line community and whose personnel are assigned to both line and staff commands. The current staff corps of the United States Navy are as follows:

• Navy Supply Corps
• Navy Medical Corps
• Navy Medical Service Corps
• Navy Nurse Corps
• Navy Chaplains Corps
• Navy Civil Engineer Corps (Seabees)
• Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG)

Weapons

Ships

Main article: U.S. Navy ships

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The names of commissioned ships of the U.S. Navy start with USS, meaning 'United States Ship'. Non-commissioned, civilian-manned vessels of the U.S. Navy have names that begin with USNS, standing for 'United States Naval Ship'. A letter-based hull classification symbol is used to designate a vessel's type. The names of ships are selected by the Secretary of the Navy. The names are usually those of U.S. states, cities, towns, important people, famous battles, fish, and ideals.

The U.S. Navy pioneered the use of nuclear reactors aboard naval vessels; today, they power most U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines. See United States Naval reactor.

As of January 2004, a relatively small number of ship classes accounted for the bulk of the U.S. naval fleet. These include:

Aircraft carriers

Image:Carrier.arp.500pix.jpg

Aircraft carriers are the major strategic arm of the Navy. They put U.S. air power within reach of most land-based military power. The US Navy's carriers are much larger and more powerful than those of the rest of the world. See also: List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy and List of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Modern aircraft carriers since CV-67 are typically named for living or dead politicians; previous aircraft carriers were named for battles and famous fighting ships of the Navy.

• Kitty Hawk class (1 ship)
• Enterprise — Norfolk, Virginia
• John F. Kennedy — Mayport Naval Station, Florida
• Nimitz class (9 ships, 1 under construction)
  • USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
  • USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
  • USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
  • USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
  • USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
  • USS George Washington (CVN-73)
  • USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
  • USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
  • USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
  • USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77 currently under construction)

Amphibious assault ships

The largest of all amphibious assault ships resemble small aircraft carriers; capable of V/STOL, STOVL, VTOL tiltrotor and rotary wing aircraft operations; contains a welldeck to support use of Landing Craft Air Cushion and other watercraft. Amphibious assault ships are typically named after World War II aircraft carriers, a name source kept over from the earliest ones, which were converted WWII carriers.

• Wasp class (7 ships)
• Tarawa class (4 ships active, 1 decommissioned)

Amphibious Transport Docks

Amphibious transports are warships that embark, transport, and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions. Amphibious transport docks are named for cities, except for USS New York (LPD-21), which is named for the state of New York and USS Somerset (LPD-25), which is named for Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

• San Antonio class (3 launched, 2 under construction, 3 planned, 2 projected)
• Austin class (10 ships active, 1 Decommissioned, 1 converted to AGF)

Dock Landing Ships

The dock landing ship is a medium amphibious transport that carries more landing craft than the Amphibious transport dock above, at the price of vehicle space, and lacks a helicopter hangar. These ships are named after locations in the United States.

• Whidbey Island class 8 Active
• Harpers Ferry class Modified Whidbey Island trading landing craft for cargo space, closer to an Amphibious Transport Dock in capacity. Four Active

Submarines

Main article: Submarines in the United States Navy

There are two major types of submarines, ballistic and attack. Ballistic subs have a single, strategic mission: carrying nuclear SLBMs. Attack submarines have several tactical missions, including sinking ships and subs, launching cruise missiles, and gathering intelligence. Sea attack submarines are typically named for cities; land attack submarines (Virginia and Ohio-class boats) are typically named for states. Earlier attack submarines were named for fish, while earlier ballistic missile submarines were named for "famous Americans" (although many of these were actually foreigners).

• Ohio class (18 in commission) — ballistic missile submarines, 4 to be converted into guided missile submarines
• Virginia class (1 in commission, 3 under construction, 2 on order) — attack submarines
• Seawolf class (3 in commission) — attack submarines
• Los Angeles Class (51 in commission) — attack submarines

Cruisers

Guided missile cruisers can conduct air warfare, surface warfare and undersea warfare. All modern cruisers are named for battles. Previous cruisers were either named for cities (until CG-12), the redesignated frigates were named for naval heroes (CG-15 to CG-35) or states (CG-36 to CG-42).

• Ticonderoga class (23 in commission) — first ships to carry the Aegis combat system

Destroyers

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All destroyers have been named for naval heroes since USS Bainbridge (DD-1).

• Arleigh Burke class (44 in commission as of June 2005) — first ship class with comprehensive design for stealth technology.

Frigates

Modern frigates mainly perform anti-submarine warfare and escort other ships. The U.S. Navy is gradually retiring its frigates; some of their jobs will be performed by the nascent littoral combat ship. [1] Named, like the destroyers, for naval heroes.

• Oliver Hazard Perry class (30 ships in commission)

Battleships

All U.S. battleships have been retired, although two Tomahawk-capable ships remain in "Inactive" Reserve. They are maintained in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996. Current plans in the United States Navy call for keeping the battleships on the NVR until the naval surface fire support gun and missile development programs achieve operational capability, which is expected to occur sometime between now and 2008. All battleships except USS Kearsarge (BB-5) were named for states.

• Iowa class

Early vessels

• USS Constitution — "Old Ironsides," oldest commissioned warship afloat
• USS Monitor — first US ironclad warship, also first rotating turret
• USS Merrimack — a wooden warship rebuilt by the Confederates as the ironclad CSS Virginia
• USS Alligator — the first submarine of the Civil War, but sunk while being towed during a storm.
• CSS Hunley — First submarine to sink a ship in a combat engagement, though it sunk in the aftermath as well. Built by the Confederates near the end of the Civil War. Sank USS Housatonic with a spar-mounted torpedo.

Naval aircraft

Image:Four Super Hornets.jpg

• A-4 Skyhawk
• AV-8B Harrier II
• C-2 Greyhound
• E-2C Hawkeye
• E-6B Mercury
• EA-6B Prowler
• ES-3 Shadow
• FH-1 Phantom
• F-14 Tomcat
• F/A-18 Hornet
• F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
• EA-18G Growler
• F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
• H-3 Sea King
• CH-46 Sea Knight
• CH-53 Sea Stallion
• SH-2 Seasprite
• SH-60 Sea Hawk
• P-3C Orion see also Multimission Maritime Aircraft
• S-3B Viking
• V-22 Osprey
• T-6A Texan II
• T-45 Goshawk
• Aerial Common Sensor (no designation yet)

Harbor defense

The United States Navy has, in the last few years, greatly expanded its harbor defense forces in response to the War on Terrorism. The main components of Naval Harbor Defense include:

• Inshore Boat Units (IBUs)
• Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Units (MIUWUs)
• Special Boat Units (SBUs)

Special warfare

The Navy Seals are the U.S. Navy's primary special warfare units whose purpose is to engage in "special activities other than war". The Navy also maintains an EOD Corps (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) as well as a small corps of Surface Warfare personel known by the designator "Special Operations Underway".

Missiles, guns, equipment

• Trident missile
• Poseidon missile
• Tomahawk missile
• Polaris missile
• Naval Space Surveillance System
• CIWS

Submarine warfare and nuclear deterrence

The submarine has a long history in the USN. It began in the late 19th century, with the building of the SS-1, USS Holland. The boat was in service for 10 years and was a developmental and trials vessel for many systems on other early submarines.

The submarine really came of age in World War I. The USN did not have a large part in this war, with its action mainly being confined to escorting convoys later in the war and sending a division of battleships to reinforce the British Grand Fleet. However, there were those in the USN submarine service who saw what the Germans had done with their U-boats and took careful note.

Doctrine in the inter-war years emphasised the submarine as a scout for the battle fleet, and also extreme caution in command. Both these axioms were proven wrong after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The submarine skippers of the fleet boats of World War II waged a very effective campaign against Japanese merchant vessels, doing to Japan what Germany failed to do to the United Kingdom. They were aggressive and effective, and operated far from the fleet.

In addition to their commerce raiding role, submarines also proved valuable in air-sea rescue. There was many an American aircraft carrier pilot who owed his life to the valour of USN submarine crews, including future U.S. President George H. W. Bush.

Navy revolutions

After WWII, things continued along much the same path until the early 1950s. Then a revolution, that was to forever change the nature of the submarine arm occurred. That revolution was USS Nautilus.

The Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine. Up until that point, submarines had really been, at their most basic level, torpedo boats that happened to be able to go underwater. They had been tied to the surface by the need to charge their batteries using diesel engines relatively often. The nuclear power plant of the Nautilus meant that the boat could stay underwater for literally months at a time, the only limit in the end being the amount of food that the boat could carry.

Another revolution in submarine warfare came with USS George Washington. Nuclear powered, like Nautilus, George Washington added strategic ballistic missiles to the mix. Earlier submarines had carried strategic missiles, but the boats had been diesel powered, and the missiles required the boat to surface in order to fire. The missiles were also cruise missiles, which were vulnerable to the defences of the day in a way that ballistic missiles were not.

George Washington's missiles could be fired whilst the boat was submerged, meaning that it was far less likely to be detected before firing. The nuclear power of the boat also meant that, like Nautilus, George Washington's patrol length was only limited by the amount of food the boat could carry. Ballistic missile submarines, carrying Polaris missiles, eventually superseded all other strategic nuclear systems in the USN. Deterrent patrols continue to this day, although now with the Ohio class boats and Trident missiles.

Image:Submarine.arp.750pix.jpg

Given the lack of large scale conventional naval warfare since 1945, with the USN's role being primarily that of power projection, the submarine service did not fire weapons in anger for very many years. The development of a new generation of cruise missiles changed that. The BGM-109 Tomahawk missile was developed to give naval vessels a long range land attack capability. Other than direct shore bombardment, and strikes by aircraft flying off carriers, the ability of naval vessels to influence warfare on land was limited.

Now, instead of being limited to firing shells less than 20 miles inland from guns, any naval vessel fitted with the Tomahawk could hit targets up to 1,000 miles inland. The mainstay of the Tomahawk equipped vessels in the early days of the missile's deployment were the Iowa class battleships, and the submarine fleet. The Tomahawk was first used in combat on 17 January 1991, on the opening night of Operation Desert Storm. On that day, for the first time since the surrender of Japan in 1945, an American submarine fired in combat, when Tomahawks were launched by US boats in the eastern Mediterranean.

Since then, the Tomahawk has become a staple of American campaigns. It has seen use in no less than three separate wars. It has also been exported to the United Kingdom, which has also fitted it to submarines. The Tomahawk has seen a change in the design of attack submarines. At first it was fired through torpedo tubes, but more recent US boats have been fitted with vertical launch systems to enable them to carry more of the weapons.

In the early 21st century, the USN submarine fleet is made up entirely of nuclear powered vessels. It is the most powerful of its type in the world. However, there are those who worry that there are not enough boats in the fleet. As with other branches of the US military the budget cuts of the late 1980s and the early 1990s, as the Cold War ended, followed up by the War on Terrorism, have left little or no slack in the system. This point is illustrated by the fact that in 2003, for the first time since 1945, a US submarine made two back-to-back war patrols.

Major naval bases

• Complete list of US Naval facilities

• Norfolk, Virginia — The largest Naval base in the world, situated in southeastern Virginia. This is the main port on the Eastern Seaboard.
• Pearl Harbor, Hawaii — A deep water naval base and headquarters of the Pacific Fleet
• San Diego, California — A large complex of Navy bases, and the primary port for ships on the West Coast of the United States
• Naval Base Kitsap, Washington — Home base for Ohio Class nuclear missile submarines in the Pacific Ocean
• Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia — Home base for Ohio Class nuclear missile submarines in the Atlantic Ocean
• Guantanamo Bay — A small section on the south coast of Cuba is leased by the United States and used as a naval base.
• U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. Largest overseas Naval facility.
• Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida — the primary site for training Naval and Marine aviators. The Blue Angels precision-flying team is based here.
• Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida — regional hub for training sailors in conflicts from World War II to the Vietnam War. Third-largest naval base in the country.

Personnel

Commissioned officer

Commissioned officers in the Navy have paygrades from O-1 to O-10. Officers with superior performance may be promoted. Officers between O-1 and O-4 are called junior officers, O-5 and O-6 are called senior officers, and O-7 to O-10 are called flag officers. See U.S. Navy officer rank insignia for a complete list of paygrades and corresponding ranks.

Commissioned officers belong to one of the following communities:

• Unrestricted line: Surface Warfare, Aviation Warfare, Submarine Warfare, Special Warfare, Nuclear
• Restricted line: Engineering Duty, Aerospace Engineering Duty, Aerospace Maintenance Duty, Cryptologic, Naval Intelligence, Public Affairs, Meteorology and Oceanography, Information Professional, Human Resource
• Staff Corps: Supply Corps, Medical Corps, Medical Service Corps, Dental Corps, Nurse Corps, Chaplain Corps, Civil Engineer Corps, Judge Advocate General Corps, Navy Band Corps

The term "line" officer means someone who may command a warship or an aviation unit. It is a carryover from the 18th-century British tactic of employing warships in a "line" to take advantage of cannons on each side of the ship. The captains of such vessels commanded "ships of the line." Today, all Navy line officers wear a star on the sleeves of uniforms near the cuff braid that denotes rank. Staff officers wear different insignias. Note: Marine Corps officers, also part of the Department of the Navy, are all considered "line" officers because they are qualified as troop commanders in addition to their specialties.

Commissioned officers originate from the United States Naval Academy, Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), Officer Candidate School (OCS), direct commission, and other commissioning programs (such as Seaman to Admiral-21 and Limited Duty Officer programs).

Enlisted

Enlisted members of the Navy have paygrades from E-1 to E-9. Enlisted members with superior performance may be advanced in paygrade. Two notably significant advancements are Seaman to Petty Officer Third Class (E-3 to E-4) and Petty Officer First Class to Chief Petty Officer (E-6 to E-7). Advancement to Chief Petty Officer is especially significant, marked by a special initiation ceremony. See U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia for a complete list of the paygrades.

All new active-duty enlisted members receive basic training ("boot camp") at the Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois. Those who have a contract for a specific rating continue onto "A" schools for training in the rating. Those who don't have a specific rating go into the fleet to learn on the job and later strike for a rating. Some members may go to additonal training in a "C" school either before a tour of duty, or after a tour of duty. A "C" school assigns a member a Navy Enlisted Classification code, or NEC, which shows that a sailor is able to perform a specific task requiring that NEC, such as NEC 2780 - Network Security Vulnerablity Technician.

Enlisted members of paygrades E-4 and above are said to be "rated" and have a rating: an occupational specialty. As of June 2005, there are more than 50 ratings, including Boatswain's Mate, Quartermaster, Engineman, Damage Controlman, Electronics Technician, Information Systems Technician, Air Traffic Controller, Fire Control Technician, Gunner's Mate, Sonar Technician, Construction Mechanic, Hospital Corpsman, Yeoman, Disbursing Clerk, Culinary Specialist, Photographer's Mate, Musician, Master-at-Arms, Aviation Electronics Technician, and Cryptologic Technician. Some ratings have subspecialties acquired either through an initial "A" school for training (such as Cryptologic Technician Technical and Cryptologic Technician Collection) or through a separate "C" school (such as Aviation Electronics Technician Organizational and Aviation Electronics Technician Intermediate.)

Qualifications

Sailors prove they have mastered skills and deserve responsibilities by completing Personal Qualification Standards (PQS) tasks and examinations. Among the most important is the "warfare qualification," which denotes a journeyman level of capability in Aviation Warfare, Special Warfare, Surface Warfare, or Submarine Warfare. Many qualifications are denoted on a sailor's uniform with U.S. Navy badges and insignia.

Sea Warrior

Launched in 2003 as part of the Navy's Sea Power 21 transformation plan, Sea Warrior is intended to link the fleet's personnel processes (recruiting, training, and assigning) with acquisition processes (buying ships, aircraft, etc.) in a way that also improves each individual sailor's ability to guide his or her own career in a satisfying direction. The aim is to more efficiently muster the right number of sailors with the right skills and seniority at each ship, squadron, and duty station.

Sea Warrior is led by the Chief of Naval Personnel[2], and the commander of the Naval Education and Training Command.

Uniforms

Coveralls

Naval Officers, Chief Petty Officers, and Enlisted personnel are issued blue coveralls, typically used in dirty laborous environments ashore, or as the principal uniform of the day when underway. Coveralls are not authorized for wear outside a naval installation, and typical local regulations dictate that coveralls are not authorized off of the pier, or outside the confines of an assigned workcenter ashore. Naval Officer's and Chief Petty Officer's coveralls are worn with gold insignia and a gold belt buckle, whereas Petty Officers and below wear coveralls with white insignia and a silver belt buckle. This uniform is worn with black boots only. This uniform can be worn with the All Weather Coat or Utility Jacket. Coveralls are certified to be fire resistant. When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state "Coveralls."

Utility Uniform

The Utility Uniform is the principal working uniform for Petty Officers for laborous work or work that does not involve interaction with the general public. It consists of a light blue short or long sleeve blouse with the Sailor's name over the right pocket, "US Navy" over the left pocket, assigned warfare insignia over the "US Navy" on the left pocket, and if a petty officer, a crow without a rating identification mark on the left sleeve. It also comes with a dark blue set of trousers with the Sailor's last name taped to the top of the back right pocket, a navy blue belt with a silver belt buckle, a baseball cap with the name of the Sailor's command or a plain "Navy" ballcap, and either black boots or black leather shoes. Additionally, underway on submarines it is customary to wear sneakers instead of black shoes. Sailors are not authorized to be seen in public outside of a naval installation in this uniform; they are only allowed to wear it in transit to and from base. This uniform can be worn with the All Weather Coat, Utility Jacket, or Peacoat. The Utility Uniform is certified to be fire resistant. When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state "Clean Utilities."

Working Khaki

The Working Khaki uniform is worn by Officers and Chief Petty Officers. It consists of a long sleeve Khaki uniform blouse, with warfare insignia worn on the top of the left pocket, and rank devices located on the collar. It also comes with a set of khaki trousers, a khaki belt with a gold belt buckle, a command or "US Navy" ballcap, and either black boots or black leather shoes. This uniform is worn either in dirty laborous environments or underway, and is certified to be fire resistant. When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state "Working Khaki." Either the All Weather Coat, Reefer or "Ike" Jackets are worn with this uniform.

Working Uniforms

Officers, Chief Petty Officers, and Petty Officers are also issued sets of "Working Uniforms" that are worn in office environments, in positions that interact with the public, and in watch situations. Officers and Chief Petty Officers are issued set of Khakis, which contain a short sleeve blouse with the warfare insignia worn on the top left pocket, ribbons worn beneath the warfare insignia, a nametag worn on the top right pocket, and rank insignia worn on the collar. It also comes with khaki trousers, a khaki belt with a gold belt buckle, either black leather shoes or brown leather shoes (brown leather shoes are worn principally by personnel within aviation fields, but are authorized for wear by anyone wearing a khaki uniform,) and either a khaki garrison cap, or a combination cover. Either the All Weather Coat, Reefer or "Ike" jackets are worn with this uniform.

Petty Officers are issued either Working Whites, or Working Blues. The Working Whites are similar to the Khakis worn by Officers and Chiefs, but are white in color, the belt is white with a silver buckle, the rank insignia is worn on the left sleeve vice the collar, it is worn with a white "Dixie Cup" cover for males and a combination cover for females and only black leather shoes are authorized for wear with this uniform. The Working Blues (Johnny Cashes) are similar to the Working Whites, but are Navy Blue, with a Navy Blue belt, can also be worn with a navy blue garrison cap, and long sleeved. When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state either "Khakis" or "Working Whites/Working Blues." Either the All Weather Coat, Working Jacket, or Peacoat are worn with this uniform.

Dress Uniform

Naval Officers and Chief Petty Officers have several dress uniforms depending on the season; Service Dress White for warm weather wear and Service Dress Blue for cooler temperatures. The Service Dress White uniform consists of White shoes, white trousers, and a high collar white tunic with shoulder boards. Either ribbons or medals are worn, along with either a navy blue or white combination cover. This uniform is informally called Chokers, due to the collar. The Service Dress Blue uniform consists of black shoes, Navy blue (very dark blue, nearly black in appearance) trousers, Navy blue coat, white shirt and a four-in-hand or formal bowtie. Ribbons or minature medals are worn. Either the All Weather Coat, or Reefer are worn with this uniform.

Naval Petty Officers also have seasonal dress uniforms. Service Dress Whites (Jumper) consist of white pants, black leather shoes, a white jumper, neckerchief and dixie cup hat for males, combination cover for females. The winter uniform (Crackerjacks) is essentially the same thing but Navy blue in color. Ribbons or Medals may be worn with these uniforms, over the top left pocket, along with warfare insignia. If medals are worn, ribbons that do not have corresponding medals are worn on the top right pocket. If these uniforms are assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state either "Service Dress Whites" or "Service Dress Blue." These uniforms are typically worn during ceremonies, inspections, or watches. Either the All Weather Coat or Peacoat are worn with this uniform.

Mess Dress

Both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard utilize the same mess uniform, consisting of a black waist-length "tuxedo" coat with rank stripes on the sleeves, and worn with a white bowtie and vest for state occasions, or a black bowtie and gold cummerbund for semi-formal occasions. A white coat with black shoulder boards is worn for the summer.

A second set of standards exists, for personnel under the rank of Lieutenant (O-3) using the standard dress uniform. These simply replace the ribbons worn on the left with minature size medals. Enlisted who are E-6 (Petty Officer First Class) and below wear their standard dress uniform, the traditional sailor suit, with miniature medals, or a uniform similar to the officers, but with rank insignia and service stripes on the left sleeve. This uniform is never made the Uniform of the Day, nor is it required to be retained by naval personnel. No cover is worn with this uniform, unless the sailor is wearing the all weather coat; then Officers and Chiefs are required to wear a combination cover, Petty Officers either wear the Dixie Cup (Males) or Combination Cover (Females.)

Coats

Petty Officers may wear a Navy Blue Peacoat with a rank insignia on the left sleeve, a Navy Blue Utility Jacket with a rank insignia on the left sleeve, a Navy Blue All Weather Coat with rank insignia worn on the collar, or a Navy Blue Working Uniform Jacket with rank insignia worn on the collar.

Officers and Chiefs may wear the "Ike" jacket, with the rank insignia worn on the shoulder epuelets, the reefer, with rank insignia worn on the collar, or the all weather coat, with rank insignia worn on the collar.

Pilots, Naval Flight Officers, and Naval Aircrewman are authorized to wear brown leather flight jackets, with rank and warfare insignia listed on a nametag over the left breast pocket.

Also, the Navy issues foul weather jackets, which are Navy blue in color, at various commands. They are not part of a seabag. The Navy also issues cold-weather jackets, which are green in color and are not part of a seabag. These jackets are considered "Organizational Clothing."

Special Uniforms

Pilots, Naval Flight Officers, and Naval Aircrewman are authorized to wear green flight coveralls, with rank insignia located on the collars, and a nametag/warfare insignia on the left breast pocket. Either a Command/Navy ballcap or a Khaki Garrison Cap (For Chiefs and Officers) are worn with this uniform. Coveralls are authorized to be worn with either the all weather coat or utility jacket (Petty Officers only.)

In certain duty stations, personnel are issued woodland or desert utility uniforms. These are similar to the other service's utility uniforms.

Finally, Naval personnel serving with the Fleet Marine Force typically wear Marine Uniforms, but may retain Naval Uniforms at their choice.

Replacements

In 2005, the U.S. Navy conducted "Task Force Uniform," in which key commands and bases were selected by the Chief of Naval Operations to determine what type of service and utility uniforms were to be adopted by the Navy. In an attempt to reduce the sailor's seabag, the Navy introduced a new service uniform, to replace the enlisted blue "Johnny Cash" winter uniform and the white "summer" uniform with a year-round uniform similar to those worn by Officers and Chief Petty Officers, except with some differences--that being the wearing of navy blue (black) trousers and a garrison cap, and either a khaki or light gray short-sleeve shirt (a decision on the final uniform has not yet been determined).

In addition to the new service uniform, a new utility uniform to replace the dungarees, work khaki, and coveralls were tried out. With several different patterns and pocket arraignments, the new uniforms are identical to the cammoflague BDU or MARPAT uniforms worn by Navy Combat Corpsman attached to Fleet Marine Force units. Unlike the previous uniforms, the new blue/gray/black pattern uniform allows grease stains to be easily masked by the pattern, along with having a uniform that can last three times as long as the current-issue uniforms.

Nametapes and U.S. Navy tapes, worn with the uniforms, have gold lettering for officers and Chief Petty Officers, while other enlisted personnel have silver lettering. Rank insignia, identical to those worn on the collar of the officer/CPO khakis, are worn on the collar by all sailors. Most likely the MARPAT-style uniform will be adopted, as it would harmonize with the Marines, Army, and Air Force uniforms already in production, and to keep costs down.

Naval culture

Image:Dtomjack large.png Image:Naval jack hoisted.jpg Image:US Naval Jack.svg Image:John Paul Jones.jpg Navy sailors are trained in the core values of Honor, Courage, Commitment. Sailors cope with boredom on long cruises of six months to a year, and cherish their time in their home ports, as well as vacations at ports abroad.

Naval jack

The naval jack of the United States is the First Navy Jack, first used during the American Revolutionary War. On May 31, 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 on September 11, 2002.

The jack is flown from the bow of the ship and the ensign from the stern when the ship is moored or anchored. When underway, the ensign is flown from the main mast.

The former naval jack was a blue field with 50 white stars, identical to the canton of the ensign, both in appearance and size. A jack of similar design was first used in 1794, though with 13 stars arranged in a 3–2–3–2–3 pattern.

Naval jargon

Main article: Military slang

A distinct jargon has developed among sailors over the course of the last four centuries. Naval jargon is spoken by American sailors as a normal part of their daily speech.

There are three distinct components of Naval jargon:

• Words that are unique to sailing and have no use in standard English, such as yardarm, bow, and stern.
• Archaic English that remains common in naval jargon, such as "aye" (the common English word for "Yes" until the 16th century), "Fo'c'sle" (from Fore Castle), and Bo'sun (from "Boat Swain", swain being Middle English for a young man or a servant).
• Modern jargon, such as "Bird" to refer to missiles, or 1MC.

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Notable members of the U.S. Navy

Officers

• Vern Clark — former Chief of Naval Operations
• Robert Dennison — retired admiral, presidential aide
• George Dewey — Hero of the Battle of Manila Bay in Spanish-American War; first and only Admiral of the Navy
• David Farragut — American Civil War Admiral, first officer to become an Admiral in the U.S. Navy
• Wilson Flagg — retired Admiral, killed in Sept 11 attack
• William Halsey, Jr. — Third Fleet Commander, won battles off Guadalcanal and the Solomons; attained rank of Fleet Admiral (5 stars)
• Esek Hopkins — first Commander in Chief of the navy during the Revolutionary War
• Grace Hopper — early computing pioneer, attained the rank of Rear Admiral in the Navy Reserve
• John Paul Jones — commander during the American Revolutionary War, considered to be the founder of the American Naval tradition
• Ernest King — Fleet Admiral; former Chief of Naval Operations
• William D. Leahy — first Fleet Admiral; first head of the Chiefs of Staff (before the post was renamed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff); former Chief of Naval Operations; former Governor of Puerto Rico; former U.S. ambassador to France
• Richard Marcinko — author, founder and commander of SEAL Team Six
• Chester Nimitz — Fleet Admiral; former Chief of Naval Operations; signed for the U.S. when Japan formally surrendered onboard the USS Missouri, class of carriers named after him
• Matthew Perry — Commodore who forced the opening of Japan
• Eli Thomas Reich — Vice Admiral, only submariner to sink a Japanese battleship unaided during WW2.
• Hyman G. Rickover — Admiral, "Father of the Nuclear Navy"
• Raymond A. Spruance -Commander at the Battle of Midway, led the Fifth Fleet in the Central Pacific and Okinawa. Rebuilt the Naval War College after World War II

Politicians

• George H. W. Bush — former U.S. President; youngest Naval Aviator in World War II; former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Jimmy Carter — former U.S. President; Cold War submariner and Peace Prize laureate
• Glenn Robert Davis — former member of the US House of Representatives
• Gerald Ford — former U.S. President; served aboard carrier during World War II
• Lyndon B. Johnson — former U.S. President; worked as a bomb observer with the Army during World War II
• John F. Kennedy — former U.S. President; decorated PT Boat commander in World War II
• Robert Kerry — former U.S. Senator; Navy SEAL commander during Vietnam War and first SEAL officer to win the Medal of Honor for classified raid in which he lost his lower leg by a Viet Cong grenade.
• John Kerry — junior U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate; swift boat commander during the Vietnam War
• John McCain — senior U.S. Senator from Arizona and Republican presidential primary candidate in 2000; former naval aviator and POW
• Harvey Milk — First openly gay San Francisco supervisor. Assasinated November 27,1978. Subject of the Academy Award winning documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk ", as well as the bestselling book "The Mayor of Castro Street"
• Richard M. Nixon — former U.S. President; supply officer in World War II

Astronauts

• Neil Armstrong — naval aviator (Korean War), X-15 pilot, astronaut, first man on the moon
• Jim Lovell — naval aviator, astronaut, pilot of first lunar orbit flight (Apollo 8) and commander of Apollo 13 mission
• Pete Conrad — naval aviator, astronaut, commander of Apollo 12 and 3rd man to walk on the moon
• Alan Shepard — naval aviator and flag officer (Rear Admiral), first American in space (Mercury-Redstone 3) and Apollo 14 commander
• Richard Truly — naval aviator and flag officer (Vice Admiral), Manned Orbiting Laboratory and Space Shuttle astronaut, serving as pilot for both Space Shuttle Enterprise landing tests and on second orbital test flight (STS-2). Later became first astronaut to serve as NASA Administrator under President George H. W. Bush.
• John Young — naval aviator and Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle astronaut

Others

• Bill Cosby — actor, comedian and educational philanthropist
• Lenny Bruce — American comedian
• Fred Durst — singer, front-man of Limp Bizkit
• Robert A. Heinlein — science fiction author
• L. Ron Hubbard — science fiction author and founder of the Church of Scientology
• Paul Newman — actor, Academy-Award winner
• David Robinson — former NBA star (San Antonio Spurs), commonly nicknamed "The Admiral"
• Bill Sharman — basketball Hall of Famer
• Roger Staubach — football hall of Famer, Vietnam veteran
• Jesse Ventura — actor, professional wrestler, Governor of Minnesota
• Humphrey Bogart — actor, Academy-Award Winner

See also

• United States Navy Reserve
• Continental Navy
• Electronics Technician rating
• Information Systems Technician rating
• Seabees, US Navy Construction Battalions, hence CBs
• Navy SEAL, special forces
• BUPERS
• Fleet Week
• WAVES
• Ship-Submarine recycling program
• U.S. Navy officer rank insignia
• U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia
• Unrestricted Line Officer
• Restricted Line Officer
• Limited Duty Officer
• Awards and decorations of the United States military
• Military badges of the United States
• United States armed forces
• United States Secretary of the Navy
• Comparative military ranks
• List of United States Navy bases
• List of ships of the United States Navy
• List of active Navy ships, sorted by homeport
• List of units of the United States Navy
• U.S. Navy munitions
• Navy Band
• Eternal Father Strong to Save (the U.S. Navy hymn)
• Uniforms of the United States Navy

References

• Official U.S. Navy Website
• Department of the Navy Website
• Navy Knowledge Online
• Sea Warrior
• Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI) — a digital library of world naval operational news, curated from open source intelligence, and intended to serve as a source of continuing education on naval and military affairs
• U.S. Navy in WW II — a web site devoted to the U.S. navy in the Pacific theater during World War II

External links

• NavSource Naval History - Photographic History Of The U.S. Navy — a source of thousands of photographs of US Navy ships.
• Maritimequest US Battleship photo gallery

• The Offical Chronology of the US Navy In World War II

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