Oct. 13, 2025 , is a milestone for sailors past and present as the U.S. Navy celebrates its 250th birthday. From battling British ships in the Caribbean, fighting pirates off the Barbary Coast to stopping the Japanese at Midway, the Navy has been an important element in U.S. foreign policy.

“When word of a crisis breaks out in Washington, it’s no accident that the first question that comes to everyone’s lips is ‘Where’s the nearest carrier,’ ” President Bill Clinton said while visiting the USS Theodore Roosevelt in March 1993.

Revolutionary War

On Oct. 13, 1775, the Second Continental Congress called for the formation of the Continental Navy. Soon after, two privateers were pressed into service, and, in December of that year, the Congress called for the construction of an additional 13

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