This book (and its companion volume, Dictionary of Naval Terms) is written for Navy neophytes who want - indeed need - to be able to understand the language of their new profession. It is also written for outsiders: journalists writing stories about the Navy, congressional staffers whose principals serve on naval related subcommittees, academics studying naval history, and the like. And, because the Navy has grown so large and so complex, this book is even written for seasoned veterans of the naval profession who, like fluent translators of foreign languages, must still occasionally look up a word to stay in the know.