US Navy (USN) Vice Admiral (VADM) Patrick M. Walsh, Commander, US Naval Forces Central Command, speaks to a group of CHIEF PETTY Officers stationed aboard USN Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier, USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76). The REAGAN and embarked Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW-14) are on their maiden deployment conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the Persian Gulf, while participating in the global war on terrorism

Aircraft carriers are warships that act as airbases for carrier-based aircraft. In the United States Navy, these consist of ships commissioned with hull classification symbols CV (aircraft carrier), CVA (attack aircraft carrier), CVB (large aircraft carrier), CVL (light aircraft carrier), CVN (aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion) and CVAN (attack aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion). The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the United States Navy was USS Langley (CV-1) on 20 March 1922.