- Commemoration Toolkits
- Wars, Conflicts, and Operations
- American Revolution
- War of 1812
- Mexican-American War
- Civil War
- Steam Navy
- Spanish-American War
- Early 20th-Century Conflicts
- World War I
- World War II
- Korean War
- Cold War Era
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Vietnam War
- Operation Allied Force
- Middle East Engagements
- POW MIA
- Pirate Interdiction and the U.S. Navy
- The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
- Heritage
- Uniforms
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1776-1783
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1797
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1802
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1812-1815
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1815
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1830-1841
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1841
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1852
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1852-1855
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1862-1863
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1864
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1898
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1900
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1905-1913
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1917-1918
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1918-1919
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1922-1931
- Uniforms of the U.S Navy 1941
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1942-1943
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1943-1944
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1951-1952
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1961
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1967
- Customs and Traditions
- Sailors' Tattoos
- Goats and the U.S. Navy
- Navy Athletics
- The Sailor’s Creed
- The Ship’s Bell
- Striking the Flag
- Unofficial Navy Certificates
- Precedence of Forces in Parades
- Passing Honors, National Anniversaries, and Solemnities
- Rocks and Shoals: Articles for the Government of the U.S. Navy
- Plank Owners
- Ship Naming
- Twenty-One Gun Salute
- Change of Command
- Navy Music
- Commissioning Pennant
- Ship Launching and Commissioning
- Burial at Sea
- Crossing the Line
- Banners
- Life Aboard
- Decorations and Awards
- Speak Like a Sailor
- Famous Navy Quotations
- Origins of the Navy
- U.S. Navy History Lessons Learned
- The Navy and Marine Corps Team
- "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. Naval Academy
- Uniforms
- Communities
- Disasters and Phenomena
- Organization and Administration
- Leadership
- Ranks
- Regulations and Policy
- Personnel
- Service and Medical Records
- U.S. Navy Installations
- Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia
- Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia
- Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut
- Naval Station Mayport, Florida
- Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
- Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
- Naval Base San Diego, California
- Naval Base Kitsap, Washington
- Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan
- Naval Support Activity Bahrain
- Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy
- Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations
- Diversity
- Exploration and Innovation
- Electricity and USS Trenton
- The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet
- The Voyage of a Lifetime
- The Ships of the Great White Fleet
- Great White Fleet Gallery
- Beginning of the Cruise
- Fleet Leadership
- Crossing the Equator
- World Cruise Experience
- At Sea
- Puerto Rico-South America-Mexico
- U.S. West Coast
- Hawaii-Australia-New Zealand
- Japan and China
- Philippines and Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
- Suez Canal-Egypt-Turkey
- Mediterranean
- End of the Cruise
- Memorabilia
- Navy Role in Space Exploration
- Polar Exploration
- The First U.S. Naval Observatory
- Bathyscaphe Trieste
- Airships & Dirigibles
- Higgins Boats
- Navy’s Use of Torpedoes
- The Nuclear Navy
- Radar and Sonar
- Navy’s Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
- Naval Mine Warfare
- The Navy’s Use of Carrier Pigeons
- Notable People
- Presidents
- Chiefs of Naval Operations
- The Office
- Admiral William S. Benson
- Admiral Robert E. Coontz
- Admiral Edward W. Eberle
- Admiral Charles F. Hughes
- Admiral William V. Pratt
- Admiral William H. Standley
- Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy
- Admiral Harold R. Stark
- Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
- Admiral Louis E. Denfeld
- Admiral Forrest P. Sherman
- Admiral William M. Fechteler
- Admiral Robert B. Carney
- Admiral Arleigh A. Burke
- Admiral George W. Anderson Jr.
- Admiral David L. McDonald
- Admiral Thomas H. Moorer
- Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr.
- Admiral James L. Holloway III
- Admiral Thomas B. Hayward
- Admiral James D. Watkins
- Admiral Carlisle A. H. Trost
- Admiral Frank B. Kelso II
- Admiral Jeremy M. Boorda
- Admiral Jay L. Johnson
- Admiral Vernon E. Clark
- Admiral Michael G. Mullen
- Admiral Gary Roughead
- Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert
- Admiral John M. Richardson
- Admiral Michael Gilday
- Master Chief Petty Officers of the Navy
- MCPON Delbert D. Black
- MCPON John D. Whittet
- MCPON Robert J. Walker
- MCPON Thomas S. Crow
- MCPON Billy C. Sanders
- MCPON William H. Plackett
- MCPON Duane R. Bushey
- MCPON John Hagan
- MCPON James L. Herdt
- MCPON Terry D. Scott
- MCPON Joe R. Campa Jr.
- MCPON Rick D. West
- MCPON Michael D. Stevens
- MCPON Steven S. Giordano
- MCPON Official Photographs
- Historical Figures
- Secretaries of the Navy
- Benjamin Stoddert (1798 - 1801)
- Robert Smith (1801 - 1809)
- Paul Hamilton (1809 - 1812)
- William Jones (1813 - 1814)
- Benjamin W. Crowninshield (1815 - 1818)
- Smith Thompson (1819 - 1823)
- Samuel Southard (1823 - 1829)
- John Branch, Jr. (1829 - 1831)
- Levi Woodbury (1831 - 1834)
- Mahlon Dickerson (1834 - 1838)
- James K. Paulding (1838 - 1841)
- George Edmund Badger (1841)
- Abel P. Upshur (1841 - 1843)
- David Henshaw (1843 - 1844)
- Thomas W. Gilmer (1844)
- John Y. Mason (1844-1845) (1846-1849)
- George Bancroft (1845 - 1846)
- William B. Preston (1849 - 1850)
- William A. Graham (1850 - 1852)
- John P. Kennedy (1852 - 1853)
- James C. Dobbin (1853 - 1857)
- Isaac Toucey (1857 - 1861)
- Gideon Welles (1861 - 1869)
- Adolph Edward Borie (1869)
- George M. Robeson (1869 - 1877)
- Richard W. Thompson (1877 - 1880)
- Nathan Goff, Jr. (1881)
- William Henry Hunt (1881 - 1882)
- William Eaton Chandler (1882 - 1885)
- William C. Whitney (1885 - 1889)
- Benjamin F. Tracy (1889 - 1893)
- Hilary A. Herbert (1893 - 1897)
- John D. Long (1897 - 1902)
- William H. Moody (1902 - 1904)
- Paul Morton (1904 - 1905)
- Charles J. Bonaparte (1905 - 1906)
- Victor H. Metcalf (1906 - 1908)
- Truman H. Newberry (1908 - 1909)
- George von L. Meyer (1909 - 1913)
- Josephus Daniels (1913 - 1921)
- Edwin Denby (1921 - 1924)
- Charles F. Adams, III (1929 - 1933)
- Claude A. Swanson (1933 - 1939)
- Charles Edison (1940)
- William Franklin Knox (1940 - 1944)
- James Forrestal (1944 - 1947)
- John Lawrence Sullivan (1947 - 1949)
- Francis P. Matthews (1949 - 1951)
- Dan A. Kimball (1951 - 1953)
- Robert B. Anderson (1953 - 1954)
- Charles S. Thomas (1954 - 1957)
- Thomas S. Gates (1957 - 1959)
- William Birrell Franke (1959 - 1961)
- John Bowden Connally, Jr. (1961)
- Fred Korth (1962 - 1963)
- Paul B. Fay (acting) (1963)
- Paul Henry Nitze (1963 - 1967)
- Charles Fitz Baird (acting) (1967)
- Paul R. Ignatius (1967 - 1969)
- John Hubbard Chafee (1969 - 1972)
- John William Warner (1972 - 1974)
- J. William Middendorf (1974 - 1977)
- William Graham Claytor, Jr. (1977 - 1979)
- Edward Hidalgo (1979 - 1981)
- John Lehman (1981 - 1987)
- James H. Webb (1987 - 1988)
- William L. Ball (1988 - 1989)
- Henry L. Garrett III (1989 - 1992)
- Daniel Howard (acting) (1992)
- Sean Charles O'Keefe (1992 - 1993)
- ADM Frank B. Kelso, II (acting) (1993)
- John Howard Dalton (1993 - 1998)
- Richard Jeffrey Danzig (1998 - 2001)
- Robert B. Pirie, Jr. (acting) (2001)
- Gordon R. England (2001-2003) (2003-2005)
- Susan M. Livingstone (acting) (2003)
- Hansford T. Johnson (acting) (2003)
- Donald Charles Winter (2006 - 2009)
- Raymond Edwin Mabus, Jr. (2009 - 2017)
- Sean G. J. Stackley (acting) (2017)
- Richard V. Spencer (2017 - 2019)
- Thomas B. Modly (acting) (2019-2020)
- James E. McPherson (acting) (2020)
- Kenneth J. Braithwaite (2020-2021)
- Thomas W. Harker (acting) (2021)
- Carlos Del Toro (2021-present)
- Profiles in Duty
- Medal of Honor Recipients
- Modern Navy Veterans
- Namesakes
- Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton
- Private First Class Oscar P. Austin
- Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers
- Private George Watson
- Cook First Class William Pinckney
- Commander Mary Sears
- Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
- Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
- Senator Daniel K. Inouye
- Private First Class Herbert K. Pililaau
- Sergeant First Class Rodney J.T. Yano
- First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez
- Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez
- Civil Rights Activist Cesar Chavez
- Admiral David Glasgow Farragut
- Private First Class Fernando Garcia
- Sergeant Alfredo Gonzalez
- Sergeant Rafael Peralta
- Chief Petty Officer James E. Williams
- Guide and Interpreter Sacagawea
- Sergeant Darrell Samuel Cole
- Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee
- Captain Thomas J. Hudner, Jr.
- Trailblazers
- Notable Ships
- U.S. Navy’s Six Original Frigates
- Ships of Sail
- Sail-to-Steam
- Modern Ships
- Alchiba (AK-23)
- Arizona (BB-39)
- Cole (DDG-67)
- Fletcher (DD-445)
- Harmon (DE-678)
- Houston (CA-30)
- Indianapolis (CA-35)
- Jacob Jones (DD-61)
- Johnston (DD-557)
- Maddox (DD-731)
- Missouri (BB-63)
- O'Bannon (DD-450)
- Pueblo (AGER-2)
- Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58)
- San Diego (CL-53)
- San Francisco (CA-38)
- Tripoli (LPH-10)
- Turner Joy (DD-951)
- Washington (BB-56)
- Aircraft Carriers
- Submarines
- Organizations and Offices
- Policies
- Justice and Discipline
- Regulations and Guidance
- Historical Summary
- Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
- NHHC
Regulations and Policy
Navy regulations began when the Second Continental Congress enacted the Rules for the Regulation of the Navy of the United Colonies on 28 November 1775. The rules contained 44 articles that “established for preserving their rights and defending their liberties, and for encouraging all those who feel for their country, to enter into its service in that way in which they can be most useful.” The articles ranged from the commanders authority to instill discipline and obedience to the commander in chief of the fleet’s power to pardon and remit any sentence of death that shall be given in consequence of any of the articles. It was not until “An Act for the Government of the Navy of the United States,” enacted 2 March 1799, that Congress established the U.S. Navy’s first Constitutional law that provided rules and regulations. This was followed the next year by “An Act for the Better Government of the Navy of the United States.”
In the years preceding the Civil War, 12 publications were promulgated under a number of titles by the president, the Navy Department, and the secretary of the Navy. A decision by the attorney general that the pre-Civil War issuances were invalid led to the inclusion in the 1862 naval appropriations bill of a provision that “the orders, regulations, and instructions heretofore issued by the Secretary of the Navy be, and they are hereby, recognized as the regulations of the Navy Department, subject, however, to such alterations as the Secretary of the Navy may adopt, with the approbation of the President of the United States.” Thirteen editions of Navy regulations were published under this authority.
The 1973 edition of Navy regulations provided that “United States Navy Regulations shall be issued by the Secretary of the Navy with the approval of the President.” In 1981, the provision for presidential approval was removed. Congress enacted the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, which granted each of the service secretaries the authority to prescribe regulations to carry out statutory functions, powers, and duties.
The chief of naval operations is responsible for maintaining Navy regulations, and that they conform to the needs of the Department of the Navy. If any person in the Navy wants to make additions, changes, or deletions to a Navy regulation, he or she must forward a draft of the changes to the CNO via their chain of command. Ultimately, the secretary of the Navy must approve any changes to Navy regulations.
*****
Regulations
- Navy Regulations, 1814
- Uniform Regulations, 1797
- Uniform Regulations, 1802
- Uniform Regulations, 1814
- Uniform Regulations, 1833
- Uniform Regulations, 1841
- Uniform Regulations, 1852
- Uniform Regulations, 1864
- Uniform Regulations, 1866
- Uniform Regulations, 1869
- Women’s Reserve, USNR, 1943
- Library Regulations: USS Pittsburgh
- Regulations Concerning the Naval Convoy of Military Expeditions, 5/27/1917
- Regulations for Powder Magazines and Shell Houses, 1874
- Regulations Concerning Armed Guards, 3/13/1917
- Rules for the Regulation of the Navy, 1775
Policy
- Women’s Policy 1947–1991
- Permitting Policy and Cultural Resource Management
- Privacy Policy
- Organizational Research and Policy Division, 1932–1949
- US Democracy Promotion Policy in the Middle East
- Collection Development Policy
- The Sullivan Brothers: U.S. Navy Policy Regarding Family Members Serving Together at Sea
- History of US Naval Operations Korea: Policy and Its Instruments
- US Navy Capstone Strategy, Policy, Vision and Concept Documents
- Bombing As a Policy Tool in Vietnam
- Islamic State and US Policy
- Iran, Gulf Security and US Policy
- Notes Related to Convoy Policy, 4/23/1918
- A Sense of Sovereignty: How China’s ‘Century of Humiliation’ Affects U.S. Policy in the South China Sea
- NHHC Services and Policies
- General Information for Employees-Washington Navy Yard, 1941
Miscellaneous Orders/Directives
- List of Z-grams
- Alcohol in the Navy, 1794-1935
- Alcoholic Liquors: General Order No. 244, 21 March 1934
- General Order 99 (Prohibition in the Navy), 1 June 1914
- Port and Starboard: General Order, 18 February 1846
- Observance of the Sabbath Day: General Order No. 456, 15 March 1919
- Accepting Presents: General Order, 21 January 1834
- Animals on Public Vessels: General Order, 28 November 1838
- Furnishing Vessels: General Order, 17 December 1850
- Contracts of Enlistment Ending: General Order, 27 September 1851
- Naval Academy Graduates Denied Final Examination Letter If Addicted to the Habit of Intoxication: General Order, 17 May 1858
- Officers of the Navy Forbidden to Give Publicity to Any Hydrographical Knowledge Obtained During Service: General Order, 22 April 1862
- Rules for Naval Communication: General Order, 12 December 1862
- Rules for Correspondence with the Secretary of the Navy and Bureaus of the Department: General Order, 23 December 1862
- Rules to Disseminate General Orders to the Officers and Crew of Naval Vessels: General Order No. 1, 10 January 1863
- To Be Observed in the Navy of the United States in Relation to Paroles: General Order No. 9, 2 April 1863
- Requirements of Fathers, Mothers or Guardians to Present a Boy for Enlistment in the Naval Service: General Order No. 81, 21 November 1866
Footnotes
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