US Navy (USN) Sailors wait to depart the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) at its homeport of Naval Station (NS) Norfolk, Virginia (VA). The USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT was on a six-month combat deployment, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM

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.