WASHINGTON -- On July 1, 1974, Vice Adm. Robert C. Gooding oversaw the merger of Naval Ship Systems Command and the Naval Ordnance Systems Command as it became Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). At the time, there were 587 active ships in the Navy, including 14 aircraft carriers, 119 destroyers and 73 submarines.
Since NAVSEA’s inception, the command has grown in size, but has shifted in shape with the consolidation of shipyard activities and the addition of warfare centers as well as other affiliated offices to include 33 activities across a number of states.
Though 43 years seems short when considering the Navy’s 241-year history, the beginning of what is now NAVSEA dates back to March 1794 when Congress responded to piracy and the disruption of foreign trade in the Mediterranean Sea with force by passing a naval act calling for the construction of a half-dozen frigates.
While there had been Congressional orders to have naval vessels built in the latter half of the 18th century, maintaining a naval force proved to be less of a priority for the fledgling U.S. government than addressing other domestic issues, such as the incomplete withdrawal of British troops, as well as expansion in the West.
Modern day NAVSEA has existed in various forms of independent bureaus and organizations over the past 200-plus years, such as the Board of Naval Commissioners (1815-42), the Bureau of (Steam) Engineering (1862-1940), as well as the Bureau of Construction and Repair (1862-1940).
Ultimately, the latter two would merge to become the Bureau of Ships (BuShips) in 1940, then becoming Naval Ship Systems Command in 1966 before the merger with Naval Ordnance Systems Command.
Global political and economic conditions, as well as technological breakthroughs in the past 43 years have all contributed to NAVSEA’s evolution as a systems command and its mission to serve the warfighter through the engineering, building, buying and maintaining of each ship, submarine and combat system serving the current and future fleet.
At its peak during NAVSEA’s existence, the Navy boasted 594 ships, of which 223 were surface warships. The end of the Cold War and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union were all contributing factors in the decommissioning of many older ships, including battleships, cruisers and auxiliary ships.
New types of ship, such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), as well as other new classes of ship designed to reduce manning and increase automation, including DDG 1000 class destroyers, the Ford class of aircraft carriers, and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, are further evidence of NAVSEA’s footprint on today’s Navy. While a number of factors have brought the number of deployable battle force ships to 277, design and engineering advancements as well as concerted efforts to operate more efficiently – many of them pioneered by the NAVSEA team – allow the Navy to maintain its foothold as the strongest Navy in the world.
Happy Birthday, NAVSEA!