 Welcome to All Hands Update. This is your week in Navy history. On October 21, 1797, the frigate USS Constitution launched at Edmund Hart's shipyard in Boston. Constitution is now the oldest commissioned warship in the world. October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy ordered a surface blockade of Cuba to keep Soviet weapons out of the country during the Cuban Missile Crisis. President Kennedy was successful in handling a dangerous Soviet Union without war. On October 23, 1944, the Battle of Leyte Golf began when U.S. submarines attacked two elements of the Japanese armada. In the Palawan Passage, USS Darter and USS Dase sank heavy cruisers Maya and Otago. The Battle of Leyte Golf is why they considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II. To learn more about the Navy's history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website.