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Before American independence, Congress approved using privateers to intercept British supply ships, while Connecticut and Rhode Island deployed armed merchant ships to patrol off New England. Learn more about Continental Navy Authorized
The Naval Act of 1794 authorized six frigates to protect U.S. commerce from Barbary pirates, establishing the Navy as a permanent institution. Learn more about "Act to provide a naval armament"
The Naval School at Annapolis evolved into the U.S. Naval Academy, emphasizing the Navy's investment in professional officer education. Learn more about U.S. Naval Academy
16 battleships accompanied by supporting cruisers and destroyers sailed around the globe to showcase the newly constructed modern U.S. battle fleet. Learn more about Great White Fleet and The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet
On July 1, 1911, the Navy's first aircraft, the Curtiss A-1 Triad, became airborne. The name Triad was derived from its three capabilities -land, sea and air.
USS Ranger (CV-4), the first carrier built from the keel up, joined Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3) to form the nucleus of the USN carrier force at the start of World War II.
This victory marked a significant turning point in the Pacific War, reinforcing the aircraft carrier's position as the Navy's dominant asset during World War II. Learn more about Battle of Midway
Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, sent the message, “Underway on nuclear power” and later completed a submerged crossing under the polar ice cap.
On October 1, 1958, Naval aviation produced the first astronauts. Approximately half of NASA astronauts were naval aviators. Of the 12 men that walked on the moon, 7 were naval aviators. Learn more about The Navy's Role in Space Exploration
The first nuclear-powered carrier, Enterprise, featured eight reactors and operated during key Cold War crises, the Vietnam War, and early stages of Global War on Terror. Learn more about USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and Enterprise VIII (CVAN-65)
In the fall of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union came as close as they ever would to global nuclear war. Hoping to correct what he saw as a strategic imbalance with the United States, Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev began secretly deploying medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles to Fidel Castro's Cuba. Learn more about Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
On March 2, 1965, Operation Rolling Thunder missions commenced against North Vietnam. The goal of the operation was to discourage the Hanoi regime's direction and support of an insurgency that threatened to destroy the Republic of Vietnam. Learn more about Operation Rolling Thunder
During the Rolling Thunder bombing campaign (1965-1968), the U.S. Navy's carrier air squadrons released thousands of mines along the enemy's key supply routes in the "panhandle" area of North Vietnam. Learn more about U.S. Mining and Mine Clearance in North Vietnam
Grenada, one of the smallest independent nations in the Western Hemisphere and one of the southernmost Caribbean islands in the Windward chain, has an area of only 133 square miles. The population is 110,000. But size is not necessarily the determining factor when governments consider strategic military locations. The Cuban government knew the value of Grenada's location when it decided to utilize the former British colony as a holding place for arms and military equipment, complete with a major airport. Eastern Caribbean nations fully understood the implication of the communist threat and called upon the United States for help. The response was Urgent Fury, a multinational, multiservice effort. Learn more about Grenada: Operation Urgent Fury
Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi had been supporting anti-western terrorism for several years when he declared a “line of death” in the Gulf of Sidra, north of the Libyan coast. Determined to offer a response, President Reagan ordered a battle force into the area in March 1986. Libya fired surface to air missiles at American aircraft and three fast missile attack craft towards the fleet. U.S. Navy aircraft disabled the shore battery, sank two of the patrol craft, and damaged the third. Learn more about The Gulf of Sidra incident
On the late afternoon of April 14, 1988, the frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) was fighting for her life after striking a deliberately-laid Iranian moored contact mine in the central Arabian Gulf. As the fire raged seemingly out of control and the ship was slowly but inexorably sinking, crewmen who were battling to save their ship were seen to place their hand on the list of names on a bronze plaque, seemingly making a spiritual connection with crewmen on board the first USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). Learn more about The Story of Samuel B. Roberts FFG-58
On April 18, 1988, the U.S. Navy launched Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian targets in the Arabian Gulf in retaliation for USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) mining four days earlier, which blew an immense hole in the ship's hull. Ten Sailors from Samuel B. Roberts sustained severe injuries. Four were seriously burned. Learn more about Operation Praying Mantis
After the world's fourth-largest army poured across the border into Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the United States deployed a major joint force that served as the foundation for a powerful 33-nation military coalition to stem Iraq's aggression. The United States Navy provided the sea control and maritime superiority that paved the way for the introduction of U.S. and allied air and ground forces, and offered strong leadership for the multinational naval force. Learn more about Desert Shield/Desert Storm
On August 8, 2000, with Kirk S. Lippold in command, Cole was deployed with guided missile frigate Simpson (FFG-56) and Military Sealift Command (MSC)-manned oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189) from Norfolk to the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. On October 12, while Cole refueled at Aden, Yemen, two al-Qaeda terrorists brought an inflatable Zodiac-type speedboat that carried a bomb alongside the destroyer, port side amidships, and detonated their lethal cargo. The explosion blew a 40-foot wide hole in Cole, but the crew's valiant damage control efforts saved her. Learn more about USS Cole (DDG-67) Bombing
In response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, Operation Enduring Freedom officially began October 7, 2001 with American and British bombing strikes against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Initially, the Taliban was removed from power and al-Qaeda was seriously crippled, but forces continually dealt with a stubborn Taliban insurgency, infrastructure rebuilding, and corruption among the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and Afghan Border Police.. Learn more about Operation Enduring Freedom
On March 20, 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) began with preemptive airstrikes on former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's presidential palace and selected military targets. The initial assault was followed by approximately 67,700 “boots on the ground” with 15,000 Navy personnel on ships in the region. OIF was authorized when Iraq was found to be in breach of UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1441, which “prohibits stockpiling and importing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).” Learn more about Operation Iraqi Freedom
Following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks on January 12, 2010, the United States responded with aid from all branches of the military. Joint Task Force Haiti's military commander was Lieutenant General Ken Keen, USA. The U.S. Navy participated in flying relief supplies at various points in Haiti, airdropping supplies from aircraft, establishing field hospitals, flying out evacuees, and providing medical assistance with USNS Comfort (T-AH-20). U.S. Marines assisted with 22nd and 24th Marine Expeditionary Units. The operation finished March 24. Learn more about Operation Unified Response - Hatti relief and humanitarian operation
The guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) launches Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in response to increased Iranian-backed Houthi malign behavior in the Red Sea January 12, 2024. As a part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, Gravely is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East.
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