Navy Day on October 27th salutes all of the military personnel who have served, both past and present, in the United States Navy. Hooyah!
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently stands as the largest, most powerful navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage. The service engages over 340,000 personnel on active duty and more than 71,000 in the Navy Reserve.
Throughout the Revolutionary War, the Navy's importance grew. Today, the United States maintains 40 naval bases across the country, including the world’s largest Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia.
Below the sea, submarines became a part of the Navy during World War II. While experiments began in the late 1800s and during the Civil War, they did not join a large part of the Navy inventory until World War II. At that point, subs became necessary for surveillance and rescue, even though they were also armed.
With the advent of the airplane, the Navy became vital stations for the Airforce as well. As a result, the Navy modified ships into floating landing strips. Today, joint Naval and Air Bases such as Pearl Harbor-Hickam provided necessary fleets of the sea and air defense.
Between 1922 and 1972, the Navy celebrated its birthday on October 27th in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt's birth. He elevated the U.S. Navy to a premier fighting force. During his term as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he built up the power and strength of the U.S. Navy. Roosevelt's pursuit of the naval aircraft advanced the U.S. Navy. As president, Roosevelt was the first president to submerge in a submarine and also the first to fly. His support of the Navy led the former Secretary of the Navy, John F. Lehman, to say, Theodore Roosevelt, "was one of the architects of our modern Navy."
