The Navy Supply Corps marked its 217th anniversary on February 23.

The Supply Corps traces its history back to 1795. At the time, the Corps provided support for the Navy’s six frigates. Since then, the Supply Corps has evolved alongside the changing times, as the Navy expanded its own global mission.

Rear Adm. Mark Heinrich, Commander of Naval Supply Systems Command and Chief of Supply Corps, shared: “Today’s Supply Corps is a key enabler of the Navy’s global force for good at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels… By delivering logistics capabilities to the Navy and joint warfighter, the Supply Corps provides mission-essential supplies that keep ships, aircraft, submarines, and expeditionary forces ready for tasking.”

Today’s Navy Supply Corps consist of more than 3,500 active and Reserve component naval officers who are serving on nearly every platform afloat, in a full range of expeditionary environments, as well as shore installations across the globe. They serve in three principal lines of operation: supply chain management, acquisition management, and operational logistics.

Heinrich said further: “As we celebrate 217 years of proud service to the fleet, all of us who wear the oak leaf can take great pride in our history, in our traditions, and in a community that has always been an enabling part of the CNO’s (chief of naval operations) tenets-warfighting first; operate forward; be ready… As we face challenges of a dynamic world environment, which will tax our capabilities to their limit, the logistics expertise and business acumen that Navy Supply Corps officers bring to the table is a skill set more coveted than ever. For 217 years we have been ‘ready for sea,’ and I am proud to be celebrating this birthday as the chief of the Navy’s premiere staff corps.”