The Navy’s organization is large, unique, and complicated, making it a challenge to understand. It is an organization with many different parts, and because the Navy works so closely with the other services, it is not enough to merely understand how the Navy is organized; you must also have some idea of how it fits into the Department of Defense.
Major Topics Covered:
Chains of Command
DOD Organization
Navy Organization
Combatant Commands (COCOMS)
Naval Component Commands
Fleets
Task Organization
Ship Organization
Aircraft Organization
To Learn More:
www.usni.org/BlueAndGoldProfessionalBooks/TheBluejacketsManual
Basic Military Requirements (NAVEDTRA 14325)
Military Requirements for Petty Officers Third and Second Class (NAVEDTRA 14504)
Military Requirements for Petty Officers First Class (NAVEDTRA 14145)
Airman (NAVEDTRA 14014A)
Organization of the Department of Defense (DOD), www.defense.gov/About-DoD/DoD-101
Navy Organization, www.navy.mil/navydata/organization/org-top.asp
Standard Organization and Regulations of the U.S. Navy (OPNAV INST 3120.32D)
Associated Tabs:
TAB 8-A: Notes on Navy and Department of Defense (DOD) Organization
8-A Notes on Navy and Department of Defense (DOD) Organization
The following notes provide a summary of the details in Chapter 8: Navy Organization.
There is more than one chain of command in the Armed Forces:
• The operational chain of command is used to carry out specific missions (like an airstrike or a humanitarian relief effort).
• The administrative chain of command takes care of support functions (like personnel manning, repairs, etc.).
• Navy forces may be part of a joint chain of command that includes elements from other services (Army, Air Force, etc.).
• U.S. forces are often part of allied chains of command as well. These are considered “combined” forces rather than joint.
The Department of Defense (DOD) consists of four principal components:
• The Secretary of Defense and his or her supporting staff
• The Joint Chiefs of Staff and their supporting staff
• The individual military departments (services): Army, Air Force, and Navy
• The Unified Combatant Commands
The Navy is one of the five armed services. The others are the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. When working together, the services are said to be “joint.” The heads (“service chiefs”) of each service are:
• The Chief of Naval Operations
• The Chief of Staff of the Army
• The Chief of Staff of the Air Force
• The Commandant of the Marine Corps
• The Commandant of the Coast Guard
The Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy but is in many ways a separate service as well.
The Coast Guard is the fifth branch of the U.S. armed services and often works closely with elements of the Department of Defense, but it is currently organized as part of the Department of Homeland Security.
The National Guard and Air National Guard are reserve components of the U.S. armed forces and are under the dual control of their local state government and the federal government (Army and Air Force, respectively).
The Joint Chiefs of Staff serve as principal advisers to the President and Secretary of Defense but are not actually in the operational chain of command. Each of the service chiefs (except the Commandant of the Coast Guard) are members of the Joint Chiefs, as are the Chairman and Vice Chairman and the chief of the National Guard Bureau.
The Unified Combatant Commanders (also known as “Combatant Commanders” or “Unified Commanders”) answer directly to the Secretary of Defense. There are currently nine unified commands:
• Africa Command (AFRICOM)
• Central Command (CENTCOM)
• European Command (EUCOM)
• Northern Command (NORTHCOM)
• Pacific Command (PACOM)
• Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
• Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
• Strategic Command (STRATCOM)
• Transportation Command (TRANSCOM)
Note: Each of these commands is more formally addressed with “United States” preceding (as in “United States Africa Command”) and is sometimes abbreviated similarly (as in “USAFRICOM).
The Department of the Navy (DON):
• is subordinate to the Department of Defense (which is headed by a civilian Secretary of Defense, who is assisted by a military Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff).
• is administratively headed by a civilian Secretary of the Navy, who is assisted by a military head known as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).
• is not the same as the “Navy Department,” which is formally defined as being part of the DON and consists of “the central executive offices of the Department of the Navy located at the seat of government . . . comprised of the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and Headquarters, Marine Corps.”
The Navy’s operational forces (commonly called “The Fleet”) consist of ships, aircraft, submarines, SEALs, and so on.
The Navy’s operational chain of command is typically structured as follows (from top to bottom):
• President of the United States (constitutionally the “Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces”)
• Secretary of Defense
• Unified Combatant Commanders (such as PACOM) depending upon the locale and the mission; these are “joint” commands so they may be commanded by an officer from one of the other services
• Naval Component Commander (such as PACFLT); purely naval (as opposed to joint) so there will be a Navy officer in command
• Numbered Fleet Commander (such as COMSEVENTHFLT)
• Task Organization (variable and can consist of all or some of the following (in descending order):
task force
task group
task unit
task element
individual unit (such as a ship, aircraft squadron, SEAL team, etc.)
The naval component commands are:
• United States Fleet Forces Command (USFLTFORCOM or FLTFORCOM)
• United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT or PACFLT)
• United States Naval Forces Europe (USNAVEUR or NAVEUR)
• United States Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT or NAVCENT)
• United States Naval Forces Southern Command (USNAVSO or NAVSO)
• United States Fleet Cyber Command
• United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM or NAVSOC or NSWC)
There are currently six numbered fleet commands in the Navy that operationally support the naval component commanders:
Task Organization permits commanders to better organize ships or other units into useful groups based around specific tasks. Using this system, a fleet can be divided into task forces and they can be further subdivided into task groups. If these task groups still need to be further divided, task units can be created and they can be further subdivided into task elements. A numbering system for identifying the various parts of a task organization starts with the appropriate fleet and then subdivides according to tasks using something that looks like a decimal system on steroids:
• Seventh Fleet
• Task Force 76
• Task Group 76.1 (Task Group 76.2, etc., as needed)
• Task Unit 76.1.1 (Task Unit 76.1.2, etc.)
• Task Element 76.1.1.1 (and so on . . .)
The administrative chain of command keeps the Navy functioning on a day-to-day basis by taking care of the essential elements of preparedness like training, repair, supply, personnel assignment, medical treatment, and so on. Unlike the operational chain, it is purely naval, rather than joint. The administrative chain of command is structured as follows:
• The SECNAV, who is a civilian and has a second in command known as the Undersecretary, as well as several Assistant Secretaries who handle specific areas, such as Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
• Subordinate to SECNAV is the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), who is a naval officer and has a second in command known as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, as well as a number of deputies with specific areas of responsibility such as Naval Intelligence. The CNO and his staff are organized as the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, better known as “OPNAV.”
• Below SECNAV and OPNAV is the shore establishment, consisting of various activities that support the operating fleet by handling such things as Training, Medicine, and Intelligence. Some of the various components of the shore establishment are:
Bureau of Naval Personnel
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Naval Education and Training Command
Strategic Systems Programs
Naval Legal Service Command
Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command
Office of Naval Intelligence
Naval Safety Center
Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center
Naval Systems Commands (see below)
Navy systems commands oversee many of the technical requirements of the Navy and report to the CNO:
• Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)
• Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
• Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR)
• Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP)
• Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC)
For administrative purposes, ships and aircraft are organized into six type commands that reflect their commonality and their geographic location:
• Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (SURFLANT)
• Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SURFPAC)
• Naval Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (SUBLANT)
• Naval Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SUBPAC)
• Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (AIRLANT)
• Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (AIRPAC)
Within the type commands, ships and aircraft are further organized into manageable group commands with component ship squadrons and air wings, consisting of individual ships and aircraft squadrons.