SOFREP Celebrates 250 Years of the United States Navy

  Did you know? USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) is the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat.#Navy250 pic.twitter.com/ZyXmSURGTw — U.S. Navy (@USNavy) September 3, 2025 Five salty facts to bring to the cake cutting The Navy and Marines share a birth year. The ship parade in Philadelphia is honoring both services at 250, a twin celebration that nods to how often sailors and Marines go to work together. The first big win at sea came early. The Nassau raid armed the Patriot cause and showed the new fleet could reach out, strike, and get home. Old Ironsides is not a museum piece in name only. She remains in commission and still draws a crew. Visitors in Boston can hear her cannon fire morning and evening. The Navy keeps a public register that tracks the fleet. If you want to nerd out on classifications and counts, the Naval Vessel Register keeps the score and updates its fleet size page frequently. The service has been at the center of history’s biggest sea fights. When naval historians talk about the largest maritime clash by tonnage, they point to the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, where the U.S. Navy helped shatter Japanese naval power and opened the road to the Philippines. The US Navy Blue Angels in a tight formation. Image Credit: US Navy Why the birthday matters A maritime nation lives on trade, alliances, and the ability to answer a knock on the door that comes from over the horizon. The Navy’s job is to make sure that knock never becomes a boot. That means carriers and submarines, yes, but also partnerships, humanitarian relief, and the routine presence that keeps storms small. The Navy’s own 250 hub frames it in plain English. Sail the globe, defend freedom, build partnerships, deter adversaries, and stand ready. Anniversaries are good for more than speeches. This one is built around contact. See the ships. Talk to the sailors. Ask them where the coffee is strongest at 0200 and what it feels like when the deck tilts in heavy seas. Then stick around long enough to hear the band crank up and the afterburners claw at the sky. That is the point of Homecoming 250 and the Navy 250 roster. It is a reminder that sea power is not an abstract thing. It is people, platforms, and practice, day after day. Shout out to the East Coast Sniper Course. Image Credit: Reddit The last word Two hundred and fifty years after Congress armed the first pair of cruisers, the United States still sends sailors to sea with orders and a promise. Bring the ship home and keep the water safe for the rest of us. Light the sparklers. Cue the band. The sea service has earned a birthday party that fits the wake it has cut. — Editor’s note for readers who want to go deeper: Navy 250 official events and messages are live on the service site. The Philadelphia program runs through mid-October. Check the schedule before you head to the waterfront, and you might catch the Blue Angels overhead or Old Glory climbing a halyard at City Hall. – GDM