United States Navy
From Military
The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States Military responsible for conducting naval operations. The US Navy currently has over 335,000 personnel on active duty and 128,000 in the Reserve. It operates 280 ships in active service and more than 4,000 aircraft.
The US Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, which is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Navy. The Department of the Navy is a division of the United States Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense, reporting to the President of the United States who is the Commander in Chief for the entire US Military. The highest ranking Navy officer is the Chief of Naval Operations.
[edit] History
The modern US Navy has its origins in the Barbary war fought in the Mediterranean. There had been a Navy previously, but an effort led by Thomas Jefferson resulted in it being disbanded in the name of peacefulness. After Thomas Jefferson was elected President, he discovered that payments were being made to Tripoli on the coast of northern Africa so as to avoid having US merchant ships fall victim to piracy. When Jefferson had the payments cut off, the Dey of Tripoli declared open season on US merchant vessels. As a somewhat ironic consequence, Thomas Jefferson as President had the task of building a new Navy.
