The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and forms military policy with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), both federal executive departments, acting as the principal organs by which military policy is carried out. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.
Lieutenant commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank in most armies and air forces is major, and in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces is squadron leader.
The Air and Space Training Ribbon is the lowest military award of the United States Air Force, ranking only above foreign military awards.
The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary of War James McHenry, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy (USN); since 1834, it has exercised jurisdiction over the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and, during wartime, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), though each remains an independent service branch. It is led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), a statutory civilian officer.
A United States Aviator Badge refers to three types of aviation badges issued by the United States Armed Forces, those being for Air Force, Army, and Naval aviation.
The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969.
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy. For over two centuries, the designation has been given varying levels of authority and formality.
National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) is a support organization of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard.
Edward Hidalgo served as the United States Secretary of the Navy in the Carter administration from October 24, 1979 to January 20, 1981. He had previously served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from April 1977 to October 1979.
The Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers. They are responsible for executing and managing the planning, design, acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of the Navy's shore facilities. The Civil Engineer Corps is under the command of the Chief of Civil Engineers and Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command. On 12 August 2022, RADM Dean VanderLey relieved RADM John W. Korka, becoming the 46th commander of NAVFAC and Chief of Civil Engineers.
Naval Air Station Sanford was a naval air station of the United States Navy in Sanford, Florida, approximately 20 miles north of Orlando, Florida. Opening less than a year after the start of World War II, NAS Sanford's initial function was as an advanced training base for land-based patrol bombers, followed by carrier-based fighter aircraft. The air station briefly closed in 1946 and was placed in caretaker status until being reactivated in 1950. It eventually served as a Master Jet Base for carrier-based heavy attack and reconnaissance aircraft until 1969. After its closure, it reopened as civilian general aviation airport under various names with a non-Navy civilian airport identifier until finally transitioning to a scheduled air carrier airport under its current name of Orlando-Sanford International Airport.
Hispanic and Latino Admirals in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to the Latino sailors, who have served in the Navy in every war and conflict since the American Revolution. Prior to the Civil War, the highest rank reached by a Latino-American in the Navy was commodore. Such was the case of Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy (1792–1862), a Sephardic Jew of Latin American descent and great grandson of Dr. Samuel Nunez, who served in the War of 1812. During the American Civil War, the government of the United States recognized that the rapid expanding Navy was in need of admirals therefore, Congress proceeded to authorize the appointment of nine officers the rank of rear admiral. On July 16, 1862, Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut became the first Hispanic-American to be appointed to the rank of rear admiral. Two years later (1864), Farragut became a vice admiral, and in 1866 the Navy's first full admiral. During World War I, Robert Lopez, the first Hispanic graduate of the United States Naval Academy, served with the rank of commodore in command of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and during World War II five Hispanics served with the ranks of rear admiral or above in either the European or Pacific Theater's of the war. As of April 2007, twenty-two Hispanic-Americans have reached the rank of admiral, and of this number thirteen were graduates of the USNA.
Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy account for the largest minority group in the institution. According to the academy, the Class of 2009 includes 271 (22.2%) minority midshipmen. Out of these 271 midshipmen, 115 are of Hispanic heritage. In 2004, of the total of 736 female midshipmen, 74 (10%) of them were of Hispanic descent.
Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) is a Junior Officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3. When introducing a lieutenant commander their full rank should always be used; however, in general conversation they are usually called "commander" even though they are not a "full" commander. Simply "lieutenant" is never used because it is one rank lower. The predecessors of the NOAA Corps, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps (1917–1965) and the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (1965–1970), also used the lieutenant commander rank, and the rank is also used in the United States Maritime Service and the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Lieutenant commanders rank above lieutenants and below commanders. The rank is equivalent to a major in the United States Army, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, and United States Space Force.
Kathlene Contres, is a former United States Navy captain who was the ranking female Hispanic American line officer on active duty. She was the Commandant of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI), the first Latina woman and the thirteenth Commandant to lead the institute since it was established in 1971. Contres retired from the United States Navy on June 4, 2010, after 30 years of service. Contres also completed two terms as the president of the Association of Naval Services Officers (ANSO).
The Claud A. Jones Award is a prestigious award presented annually to the "Fleet Engineer of the Year" by the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) since 1987. The award recognizes the efforts of United States fleet or field engineers who have made significant contributions to improving operational engineering or material readiness of the United States maritime forces during the past three years prior to nomination.
Naval Medical Research Unit Four (NAMRU-4) was a research laboratory of the US Navy which was commissioned 31 May 1946 at the Naval Hospital in Dublin, Georgia as the Mcintire Research Unit for Rheumatic Fever, which was named for the Surgeon General of the United States Navy Ross T. Mcintire. Initial staffing was 4 physicians, 4 laboratory technicians and 4 laboratory helpers under the command of LCDR John R. Seal. Eighteen months after commissioning the Navy transferred Dublin Naval Hospital to the Veterans Affairs system and the Secretary of the Navy re-established NAMRU-4 at Great Lakes Naval Base on the grounds of the Naval Hospital to study acute respiratory diseases in military personnel with a focus on their prevention. Lieutenant Commander Seal remained the Officer in Charge. The location at Great Lakes made it ideal as this was a large recruit training command with members arriving from all over the United States and being housed in military barracks and therefore would be expected to experience outbreaks of respiratory illness periodically. Diseases studied included:
In the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, captain is the senior-most commissioned officer rank below that of flag officer. The equivalent rank is colonel in the United States Army, Air Force, Space Force, and Marine Corps.
The California Maritime Academy Corps of Cadets is the undergraduate student body at the California Maritime Academy. As a State Maritime Academy, as required by Title 46 Part 310 of the Code of Federal Regulations students are considered Cadets, required to wear uniforms, and utilize a demerit-based disciplinary system. Participation in the Corps of Cadets is mandatory; participation in the Navy Reserve Merchant Marine program is optional. Cadets still utilize Merchant Marine Navy-style uniforms, customs, and traditions. Based on academic majors cadets are organized into Squads, Sections, Divisions and Companies which regularly muster in Morning Formations multiple times a week, as well as stand watches on campus and aboard the training ship.
