The United States Naval Academy is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the second oldest of the five U.S. service academies and it educates midshipmen for service in the officer corps of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The 338-acre (137 ha) campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles (53 km) east of Washington, D.C., and 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845, when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.
The Naval Academy Preparatory School or NAPS is the preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy. NAPS is located on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. The mission of the Naval Academy Preparatory School is "To enhance Midshipman Candidates' moral, mental, and physical foundations to prepare them for success at the United States Naval Academy".
Admiral Thomas Boulton Fargo served in the United States Navy during the late 20th century and early 21st century. He served as Commander, United States Pacific Command, at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii from May 2, 2002 to February 26, 2005. He was the twentieth officer to hold the position.
Harry Binkley Harris Jr. is a retired American diplomat and retired U.S. Navy officer. He was the first American of Japanese descent to lead US Pacific Command in the U.S. Navy and was the highest-ranking American of Japanese descent in the U.S. Navy during his time as commander.
Kurt Walter Tidd is a retired United States Navy admiral. He last served as the Commander, United States Southern Command. Prior to that assignment, Tidd served as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as the Director for Operations, Joint Staff (J-3) from 2012 to 2013, and as Commander, United States Naval Forces Southern Command and United States Fourth Fleet from August 5, 2011 to June 22, 2012. Confirmed by the Senate on December 16, 2015, Tidd received his fourth star and succeeded John F. Kelly as commander of United States Southern Command on January 14, 2016. Tidd held the title of "Old salt", which means he received his qualification for Surface Warfare before any other active-duty navy officer. He passed said title to Admiral Philip S. Davidson upon his retirement. Upon the May 30, 2018, retirement of his United States Naval Academy classmate, Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., Tidd also gained the honorific of "Old Goat" – the longest-serving Naval Academy graduate on active duty. Harris presented Tidd with the Old Goat decanter in a ceremony on April 11, 2018.
The Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy is its commanding officer. The position is roughly equivalent to the chancellor or president of an American civilian university. The officer appointed is, by tradition, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. However, this is not an official requirement for the position. To date, all superintendents have been naval officers. No Marine Corps officer has yet served as superintendent.
An "old salt" is an old sailor or mariner who tells oral history and sea stories. Sometimes deemed a sage within their domain, and while sometimes a raconteur, much of the history and traditions of mariners are passed from generation to generation as told and retold by old salts. Their factual oral histories and fictional sea stories often intermingle and thus may overall be truthful, half-true, or fiction. Each narrative told by an old salt tends to have the aim of enhancing the reputation of the old salt, the old salt's companions, or the old salt's forbearers, although they may also tell instructive tales of tragedy.
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.
John Wills Greenslade was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral. He enjoyed a significant military career, participating in several conflicts and distinguished himself during World War I as Commanding officer, USS Housatonic and during World War II as Commander, Western Sea Frontier and Commandant, Twelfth Naval district with headquarters at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.
Commander, Naval Surface Force Pacific (COMNAVSURFPAC) is a United States Navy vice admiral, who leads the Naval Surface Force, United States Pacific Fleet. The commander is also designated as commander, Naval Surface Force (COMNAVSURFOR), a "dual hat", who serves as the Navy's Lead for the Surface Warfare Enterprise. From 1978 to 1987, and probably later, the headquarters has been located at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Coronado, California.
Vice Admiral Emmett Hulcy Tidd was a flag officer of the United States Navy.
The Gray Owl Award is presented to the senior naval flight officer (NFO) on continuous active duty in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps who has held that designation for the longest period of time.
Philip Scot Davidson is a retired four-star admiral in the United States Navy who last served as the 25th commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command from May 30, 2018 to April 30, 2021. He previously served as the commander of United States Fleet Forces Command and United States Naval Forces Northern Command from 2014 to 2018. Davidson is from St. Louis, Missouri, and is a 1982 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He retired from the U.S. Navy effective May 1, 2021.
Christopher Watson Grady is a United States Navy admiral who serves as the 12th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since December 20, 2021. He most recently served as the commander of United States Fleet Forces Command and United States Naval Forces Northern Command from May 2018 to December 2021, with additional duties as commander of United States Naval Forces Strategic Command and Joint Force Maritime Component Commander from February 2019. He previously served as commander of the United States Sixth Fleet, commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, deputy commander of United States Naval Forces Europe - Naval Forces Africa and Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Europe from October 2016 to March 2018.
Willard Arthur Saunders was a highly decorated submarine commander in the United States Navy during World War II and later Rear Admiral. A graduate of the Naval Academy, he distinguished himself as Commanding Officer of the submarine Grayback on war patrols in early 1942; he was decorated with the Navy Cross, the United States' second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat.
William Kevin Lescher is a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who currently serves as the 41st Vice Chief of Naval Operations. He assumed this office and rank on May 29, 2020. Lescher is also the "Old Goat", the longest currently serving Naval Academy graduate.
