Reference Policy on the "First", "Last", "Longest", "Oldest" etc.

The Naval History & Heritage Command often receives "world's record" types of questions dealing with the first, largest, longest, or oldest event, ship, or sailor, etc.

Examples of some of these questions are: the longest deployment, the youngest naval aviator, the first African American Navy diver, etc.

Some of these answers may be available in our FAQ section, however, in many cases the Navy has never collected the desired data, or organized it in a fashion to readily answer a specific question. To do so at this point would require the Command to conduct extensive examinations of constantly accumulating documents, such as logbooks and personnel files, sometimes from the entire 200+ years of the Navy's history. We do not have the resources to accomplish such large research projects, and regret that we are unable to answer certain questions.

Researchers are encouraged to examine the Command's " Frequently Asked Questions".