A Naval Review is an event where select vessels and assets of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
are paraded to be reviewed by the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
or the
Secretary of the Navy. Due to the geographic distance separating the modern
U.S. Navy and the deployment rotations of a various ships within a fleet, it would be exceedingly difficult to imagine a situation where even an entire numbered fleet could be presented at one event, to say nothing of the physical cost and logistical requirements to support over 460 ships exceeding 3.4 million tons displacement.
A naval review can also include warships and delegates from other national navies. The largest modern maritime exercise regularly being conducted by the US Navy is the
Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), held biennially during the summer on even-numbered years off the coast of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. It typically sees the participation of around 50 ships and 200 aircraft, from 2 dozen nations with some 25,000 personnel, culminating in a massive naval review often attended by the
Secretary of the Navy, joining the
Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command,
Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and other invited dignitaries.
Following is a list of select past Naval Reviews, by President. Each was reviewed by the President, unless otherwise noted.
Nineteenth century
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
* Apr to June 1893, at
Hampton Roads –
International Naval Review, part of the
Columbian Exposition – President on board the despatch vessel , with the following other U.S. naval vessels present:
**
**
**
**
Before World War One
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
* 1903 at
Oyster Bay, New York – Presidential Fleet Review
* 2–4 September 1906, Oyster Bay, New York – U.S. naval vessels included:
**
**
**
* 10 June 1907 – Presidential Review, from
Fort Monroe as part of
Jamestown Exposition which laid the groundwork for
Naval Station, Norfolk – U.S. naval vessels included USS ''Georgia'', from which 11 June was proclaimed "Georgia Day"
* 16 December 1907, Hampton Roads – Send-off for the
Great White Fleet, which included , 15 other battleships, a torpedo boat squadron and transports, USS ''Truxtun''
*6–8 May 1908,
San Francisco Bay, reviewed by
Secretary of the Navy, which included the following units of the
Pacific Fleet:
**
** USS ''Georgia''
**
**
* 22 February 1909, Hampton Roads – Return of the Great White Fleet, which included the following vessels:
**
**
**
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
* 2 November 1910 – Before departure for France
* early November 1911, New York – U.S. naval vessels included:
**
** USS ''Washington''
* 1 April 1912, off
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
, which included USS ''Wisconsin''
* 14 October 1912,
North River – and passed before the President and the Secretary of the Navy
George von L. Meyer
*10 – 15 October 1912,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
–
1914 – 1919: Woodrow Wilson
* May 1915,
New York Harbor – inc.
* 26 December 1918 – New York – reviewed by Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniels from the deck of the yacht and Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Franklin Delano Roosevelt from , which also included USS ''Wisconsin''
* September 1919, San Francisco, including (during which she was visited by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels on 4 September) and
* 12 September 1919,
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington – U.S. naval vessels included
USS ''Seattle''
*late December 1919, North River –
Victory Naval Review – U.S. naval vessels included
Inter-war
Warren G. Harding
* 28 April 1921, Hampton Roads – Reviewed by President
Warren G. Harding, which included the following U.S. naval vessels:
** USS ''Delaware''
**
* April 1921,
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
, which included the following U.S. naval vessels:
**
**
* 1923, Seattle, Washington, which included and
Calvin Coolidge

*June 1927, Hampton Roads – Naval vessels included:
** USS ''Seattle''
**
**
**
**
**
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
* 31 May 1934, New York Harbor, which included the following U.S. naval vessels:
**
**
**
**
*September–November 1935,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California which included the following U.S. naval vessels:
**
**
** USS ''Concord''
* 12 – 14 July 1938,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, California – carried
President Roosevelt and also included USS ''Concord''.
1940 to 1945
Image:USS Texas-4.jpg, , 1940 review
Image:Missouri panama canal.jpg, USS ''Missouri'' in the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
en route to the 1945 review
Image:Harry S. Truman aboard USS Renshaw (DD-499) during the Navy Day Fleet Review in New York Harbor, 27 October 1945 (80-G-K-15861).jpg, Truman, 1945 review
Image:USS New York (BB-34) off New York City (USA), circa 19 October 1945 (80-G-K-14562).jpg, at the 1945 review
*Navy Day, 27 October 1940
Harry S. Truman
*Navy Day Fleet Review in New York Harbor, 27 October 1945
Post-war to present
Dwight Eisenhower

11 – 13 June 1957, Hampton Roads –
International Naval Review on 350th anniversary of founding of
Jamestown, Virginia, which involved 113 ships from seventeen nations, including the French anti-aircraft cruiser and the following U.S. naval vessels:
*
*
* –
Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson embarked
*
*
*
* –
Flagship for Admiral
Jerauld Wright, Commander-in-Chief
U.S. Atlantic Fleet and
Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Image:USS Saratoga (CVA-60) 1957.jpg, USS ''Saratoga''
Image:USS Randolph (CVA-15) during the International Naval Review in Hampton Roads, 12 Jun 1957 (NH 97490).jpg,
Image:USS Iowa (BB-61) anchored in Hampton Roads on 12 June 1957.jpg, USS ''Iowa''
Image:USS Canberra (CAG-2) in Hampton Roads on 12 June 1957 (NH 98389).jpg, USS ''Canberra''
26 June 1959, USS ''Lake St. Louis'' reviewed by the President and by
Queen Elizabeth II, which included USS ''Forrest Royal'' and
Gerald Ford
1976 - New York Harbor – Fourth International Naval Review in honor of the
United States Bicentennial.
Set to coincide with
Op Sail 1976, which included as host ship on whose flight deck on 4 July the President rang in the Bicentennial.
American ships were joined with vessels from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, West Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, the Soviet Union, Israel, Egypt, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, South Africa, The Netherlands, & Romania.
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
1986 - On July 3–4, the Fifth International Naval Review commemorating the rededication of the
Statue of Liberty was held in New York Harbor. Repeating the model from 1776, the warships came in on July 3 and anchored along the channel and the Tall Ships sailed up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge past , where Reagan and other VIPs gathered to review the fleet.
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
3–9 July 2000, New York City – Sixth International Naval Review, set to coincide with
Op Sail 200, included the following U.S naval vessels:
Reviewing Ships
* (Clinton's flagship)
*
USS ''John F. Kennedy''
*
*
Parading Vessels
2026 Review
In honor of the
United States Semiquincentennial, the United States Navy will host a naval review on 4 July 2026 in New York Harbor.
The 250th birthday of the United States of America
/ref> It is planned for more than 80 ships from 30 countries to be taking part. It will also coincide with OpSail 2026.
RIMPAC
First held in 1971, RIMPAC is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. Hosted and administered by the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
's Indo-Pacific Command in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard. It is described by the US Navy as a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans.
Although the 2020 RIMPAC exercise was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, 25,000 naval personnel and 52 ships and submarines from 26 countries participated in the 2018 exercises, with forces representing Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.
File:SECDEF_Esper,_meets_with_Adm_Aquilino,_CINPACFLT_aboard_USS_Essex_during_RIMPAC_2020.jpg, SecDef Esper with CINCPACFLT Aquilino at RIMPAC 2020
File:SECNAV_tours_RIMPAC_HADR_camp.jpg, SECNAV Richard Spencer meets with RIMPAC 2018 commanders
File:Chilean_Minister_of_Defense_visits_RIMPAC.jpg, Chilean defense minister Alberto Espina participates in RIMPAC 2018
File:SECNAV_Mabus_RIMPAC_2012.jpg, SECNAV Mabus departs Hickam to review the RIMPAC 2012 fleet
References
External links
* {{Internet Archive short film, id=gov.dod.dimoc.35246, name=GATHERING OF MEN AND SHIPS, THE (1977)
United States Navy