The United States Navy ( USN ) is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 284 ships in active service and more than 3,700 aircraft. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest combined. The U.S. Navy also has the world's largest carrier fleet, with 11 in service and one under construction.
The Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. The United States Constitution provided the legal basis for a seaborne military force by giving Congress the power "to provide and maintain a navy".
Depredations against American shipping by Barbary Coast pirates in the Mediterranean Sea spurred Congress to employ this power by passing the Naval Act of 1794 ordering the construction and manning of six frigates. These ships were used to end most pirate activity off the Barbary Coast. In the twentieth century American blue-water navy capability was demonstrated by the 1907–1909 world tour of the Great White Fleet.
The 21st century United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in such areas as East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. It is a blue water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward areas during peacetime, and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it an active player in American foreign and defense policy.
The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, which is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Navy. The Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The highest ranking Naval officer is the Chief of Naval Operations.
Mission
The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.— Mission statement of the United States NavyFrom the New Recruits Handbook:
The mission of the United States Navy is to protect and defend the right of the United States and our allies to move freely on the oceans and to protect our country against her enemies.The United States Navy serves as a seaborne branch of the Military of the United States. 10 U.S.C. § 5062 prescribes the navy's three primary areas of responsibility:
- "The preparation of naval forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war"
- "The maintenance of naval aviation, including land-based naval aviation, air transport essential for naval operations and all air weapons and air techniques involved in the operations and activities of the Navy"
- "The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, and equipment of naval combat and service elements".
U.S. Navy training manuals state the mission of the U.S armed forces is "to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest". As part of that establishment, the U.S. Navy's functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to "sealift" duties.
History
Main article: History of the United States NavyOrigins
"Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive."— George WashingtonIn the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, the establishment of an official navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, and make it easier to seek out support from foreign countries. Detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the world's preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking.
Commander in Chief George Washington commissioned seven ocean-going cruisers to interdict British supply ships, and reported the captures to the Congress. This effectively ended the debate in Congress as to whether or not to "provoke" the British by establishing a Navy as Washington's ships had already captured British ships, somewhat a provocation.
While Congress deliberated, it received word that two unarmed British supply ships from England were heading towards Quebec without escort. A plan was drawn up to intercept the ships—however, the armed vessels to be used were owned not by Congress, but by individual colonies. Of greater significance, then, was an additional plan to equip two ships that would operate under the direct authority of Congress to capture British supply ships. This was not carried out until 13 October 1775, when George Washington announced that he had taken command of three armed schooners under Continental authority to intercept any British supply ships near Massachusetts. With the revelation that vessels were already sailing under Continental control, the decision to add two more was made easier; the resolution was adopted and 13 October would later become known as the U.S. Navy's official birthday.
The Continental Navy achieved mixed results; it was successful in a number of engagements and raided many British merchant vessels, but it lost 24 of its vessels and at one point was reduced to two in active service. As Congress turned its attention after the conflict towards securing the western border of the new United States, a standing navy was considered to be dispensable because of its high operating costs and its limited number of roles.
From reestablishment to the Civil War
We ought to begin a naval power, if we mean to carry on our commerce.— Thomas JeffersonThe United States would be without a navy for nearly a decade—a state of affairs that exposed its merchant ships to a series of attacks by Barbary pirates. The sole armed maritime presence between 1790 and the launching of the U.S. Navy's first warships in 1797 was the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS), the primary "ancestor" of the U.S. Coast Guard. Although USRCS Cutters conducted operations against these pirates, the depredations far outstripped the abilities of the USRCS and Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates on 27 March 1794; three years later the first three were welcomed into service: the USS United States , USS Constellation and USS Constitution .
Following an undeclared Quasi-War with France, the U.S. Navy saw substantial action in the War of 1812, where it was victorious in numerous single-ship duels with the Royal Navy. The Navy drove all significant British forces off the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain and prevented them from becoming British controlled zones of conflict. Despite this, the U.S. Navy was unable to prevent the British from blockading American ports and landing troops on American soil. After the war, the U.S. Navy again focused its attention on protecting American shipping assets, sending squadrons to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, South America, Africa, and the Pacific.
During the Mexican-American War the U.S. Navy contributed by instituting blockades of Mexican ports, capturing or burning the Mexican fleet in the Gulf of California and capturing all major cities in Baja California peninsula—later returned. In 1846-1848 the navy successfully used the Pacific Squadron under Commodore (Rear Admiral) Robert 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 the California 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 at Veracruz, Mexico. When larger guns were needed to bombard Veracruz Navy volunteers landed large navy guns and manned them in the successful bombardment of the city and its surrender. This successful landing and capture of Veracruz eventually opening the way for the capture of Mexico City and the end of the war. The United States Navy established itself as a player in American foreign policy through the actions of Commodore Matthew Perry in Japan, which resulted in the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.
Naval power would play a significant role during the American Civil War, where the Union had a distinct advantage over the Confederacy on the seas. A Union blockade on shipping handicapped the Southern effort throughout the conflict. The two American navies would help usher in a new era in world naval history by putting ironclad warships into combat for the first time. The Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862, which pitted USS Monitor against CSS Virginia , became the first engagement between two steam-powered ironclads. Soon after the war, however, the U.S. Navy's fleet slipped into obsolescence because of neglect.
20th century
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