On 26 August 1775, the Assembly of the Colony of Rhode Island sent its delegates to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to request the establishment of, quote, a fleet of sufficient force for the protection of these colonies.

Although the Congress had already urged

individual colonies to mount their own naval defenses, the Rhode Island Assembly understood

that securing American ports and waters would be a bigger job than any one colony could handle.

The Congress agreed on 13 October 1775 and created an advisory committee staffed by three men, including

future President John Adams of Massachusetts. In addition to protecting American trade from

British blockade and predation, the committee also made recommendations for intercepting British

ships laden with supplies for the King's forces in North America.

Within hours, the Congress approved the committee's recommendation that Massachusetts

supplied General George Washington, then stationed in Massachusetts, with an armed schooner

and a sloop for the purpose of seizing British supplies.

At the same time, Connecticut and Rhode Island would

arm merchant vessels to patrol the North Atlantic for British transports. With that,

what would eventually become the U.S. Navy was born. Hello and welcome to the fighter pilot podcast,

the internet show that explores the fascinating world of air combat, the aircraft, the weapon systems,

and most importantly, the people. I am your host, Vincent Aiello. This episode is originally

airing on the U.S. Navy's 250th anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion, we are joined by

Mr. Tony Grayson to discuss a decidedly nautical topic. Wait a minute. Submarines. Hey, Tony, did you not get the memo? This is an aviation theme podcast, buddy. Well, I think, you know, with New Virginia class, we got pilots, we got co-pilots. You know, I've been with aviators before. I think we can, we're cool enough to start hanging out with you.

Oh, dear. Well, you know what? Hey, everyone, we are talking submarines today. And yeah, Tony, you're kind enough to join us. Thank you. I'm not going to beat you up too much, but I think this can be a really fun discussion because check it out. The Navy has soldiers, although God forbid you ever call a mar a soldier. The Coast Guard, of course, has ships.

Even the U.S. Army has some, but I think they generally call them boats or watercraft.

Everyone has aviation, but hey, nothing says Navy like a submarine.

So I suppose this is a suitable topic for the Medical Services 250th birthday.

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