The United States Navy is the second oldest branch of the military and is the largest branch if you include the marines. The United States Navy is also one of the major branches of the military. Every other branch would be virtually nothing without the Navy. The difference is that the Navy and Marines would be able to remain operational without help from any of the other branches of the military. The reason they could remain functional without the other branch is that the Navy and Marines cover all aspects of warfare together, thus making the Navy the most flexible branch of the Army (Navy.Mil). First, the US Navy alone is the second largest branch of the military, but that's not counting the marines who are paired with the navy. The Navy had 317,054 active duty personnel as of December 2013 and nearly 104,650 reservists. It operates 341 ships and over 3,700 aircraft ranging from fighter aircraft such as the F-18, AWACS such as the E2-C Hawkeye and helicopters such as the CH-46 Sea Knight. The US Navy actively operates 10 aircraft carriers; these aircraft carriers host over 5000 sailors for periods of 6-8 months. Overall, the US Navy is a force to be reckoned with, no matter what country we face (Navy.Mil). The Navy is very flexible by also having its own special forces team. The United States Navy Seals are one of the most elite fighting forces in the world. They are capable of operating in all environments, including sea, air and land. Their training is among the most advanced in the world and requires thirty months of sweat and tears. Only about 25% of prospective Navy Seals will make it through the vigorous training (Luttrell). Normal Navy Seals missions usually consist of: reconnaissance, capture/kill... middle of paper... The US blockade of the strait would not allow any outgoing ships to refuel or any incoming ships to leave. After many weeks of the Navy directly blocking the Bosphorus, the Russian economy would start to suffer some damage and Putin might be more willing to play by our rules (). In conclusion, without the Navy many of the essential missions that the Army is known to do would not be possible. No other branch would be able to transport so many troops, weapons or supplies to the battle zone. The Navy is also capable of providing mobile air support, without aircraft carriers if we wanted planes in the air we would have to build airfields in the country we want to attack. They are also able to provide a nuclear safety net that no other branch could and finally they are the only branch capable of providing large scale humanitarian aid for almost any disaster..