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George Washington was the first president to command the army, but there was no operational US Navy during his presidency. The US Navy was established in 1794, but had no ships until the first frigate "United States" was completed in 1797, when John Adams had become President.

The Constitution specifies that the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the military. The first US President (George Washington) was thus the first Commander-in-chief of whatever military forces were in place at the time.

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12y ago

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