Portal:United States Navy
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The United States Navy (also known as USN or the U.S. Navy) is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas. The U.S. Navy currently has nearly 500,000 personnel on active duty or in the Navy Reserve and operates 278 ships in active service and more than 4,000 aircraft.
The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was disbanded in 1790. The United States Constitution, though, 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 corsairs spurred Congress to employ this power in 1794 by passing the Naval Act of 1794 ordering the construction and manning of six frigates. The U.S. Navy came into international prominence in the 20th century, especially during World War II. Operating in both the European and Pacific theatres, it was a part of the conflict from the onset of American military involvement — the Attack on Pearl Harbor — to Japan's official surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri. The U.S. Navy had a role in the subsequent Cold War, in which it evolved into a nuclear deterrent and crisis response force while preparing for a possible global war with the Soviet Union.
The 21st century United States Navy maintains a sizeable presence in the world, deploying in such areas as East Asia, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. Its ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward areas during peacetime, and rapidly respond to regional crises makes it an active player in American foreign and defence policy. Despite decreases in ships and personnel following the Cold War, the U.S. Navy has continued to spend more on technology development than any other and is the world’s largest navy with a tonnage greater than that of the next 17 largest combined.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise aerial attack largely on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, and the USA launched by the 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy of the task force Carrier Striking Task Force on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 (Hawaii time). It was aimed at the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Corps and Marine defensive squadrons as preemptive war intended to neutralize the American forces in the Pacific in an impending World War II. Pearl Harbor was actually only one of several military and naval installations which were attacked, including those on the other side of the island.
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One One (EODMU-11), Detachment Three, soar high in the sky attached to an SH-60 Seahawk assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Six (HS-6), while participating in special purpose insertion and extraction (SPIE) exercise during helicopter rope suspension training (HRST) master qualifications on the flight deck aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
- United States Second Fleet — 10 December 2006
- United States Third Fleet — 10 December 2006
- Naval Air Station Key West — 10 December 2006
- OP-20-G — 9 December 2006
- Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy — 28 October 2006
- 1MC — 28 October 2006
- Naval Air Station Kingsville — 27 OCtober 2006
- VAW-77 — 27 OCtober 2006
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- Three Navy astronauts are part of the crew of NASA's space shuttle Discovery currently awaiting launch. The nighttime launch of Discovery had been set for December 7, but was delayed because of weather. (Navy Newsstand December 8, 2006)
- PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The National Park Service and the U.S. Navy hosted a joint memorial ceremony at Naval Station Pearl Harbor December 7, commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. (Navy Newsstand December 7, 2006) (pictured)
- A Navy F/A-18C fighter is being linked to the friendly fire death of a British Royal Marine during a battle in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Initial news reports said the jet was an Air Force A-10. (Navy Times December 4, 2006)
Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr. (born May 4, 1948 in Canastota, New York) is a four star Admiral in the United States Navy. He is the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As vice chairman he ranks as America's second highest ranking military officer.
- ...that Doris "Dorie" Miller was an African American cook serving on the USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the attack on Pearl Harbor and because of his heroic actions became the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the Navy's second highest honor?
- ...that due to the vast array of foreign, domestic and shipboard duty stations in which Hospital Corpsman are called to serve as well as the fact that the United States Marine Corps has no medical personnel of their own, the Hospital Corps is anecdotally reported to be the largest rating in the United States Navy?
- ...that Anchors Aweigh is not the official song of US Navy, although there is a pending proposal to make it the official song, and to incorporate protocol into Navy regulations for its performance?
"Tell the men to fire faster. Fight 'til she sinks, boys. Don't give up the ship." — Captain James Lawrence, USN, June 1813
