Navy

The mission of the U.S. Navy 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 was founded on October 13, 1775, and the Department of the Navy was established on April 30, 1798. The Department of the Navy has three principal components: The Navy Department, consisting of executive offices mostly in Washington, D.C.; the operating forces, including the Marine Corps, the reserve components, and, in time of war, the U.S. Coast Guard (in peace, a component of the Department of Homeland Security); and the shore establishment.

The U.S. Navy fleet is comprised of aircraft carriers that allow the mobile projection of naval air power across the globe, amphibious Assault Ships that deploy and support U.S. ground forces in remote locations, cruisers that are capable of engaging multiple simultaneous targets and employed in force support or independent action, destroyers that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capability, independently or in fleet support, and submarines for underwater operations and designed to carry out research, rescue, or specific wartime missions.

The Navy also has a large inventory of aircraft of all types to support the mission.

There are approximately 318,000 sailors serving on ships and installations across the world today.