United States Navy



United States Department of the Navy 1794 - 2092 OTT

The naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It was estimated to be larger than the next 13 largest navies combined in terms of battle fleet tonnage, although in terms of major combatant numbers, it fell into second place behind the Chinese Navy. The U.S. Navy also had the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet.

The U.S. Navy traced its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783 OTT) and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. The U.S. Navy was reestablished by the Naval Act of 1794. The U.S. Navy saw substantial action in the War of 1812 (1812 -1815 OTT) It played a major role in the American Civil War (1861 to 1865 OTT) by blockading the Confederacy and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in the World War II defeat of Japan. Until merging into the United Earth Navy in 2092 OTT, the U.S. Navy maintained a sizable global presence, deploying in such areas as East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. It was ablue-water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of Earth, 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 was administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, which was headed by the civilian Secretary of the Navy. The Department of the Navy was itself a division of the Department of Defense, which was headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations(CNO) was a four-star admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. 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 were Navy officers, who by law, outranked the CNO.