The force was only formally established on 11 September 1998 as a maritime wing, and in 2004 as a fully-fledged navy, fourteen years after independence.

Initially a group of four trainees were dispatched to the Naval Academy in Brazil, complemented by ten officers from the Namibian Army.

These personnel formed the core group that were sent to Brazil in August 1995[clarification needed] after Walvis Bay had been integrated into Namibia in 1994.

This group, led by Phestus Sacharia, consisted of officers such as Peter Vilho, Sinsy Nghipandua, Alweendo Amungulu, and Petrus Tjandja, would be the future Headquarters staff[clarification needed] and ship captains.

[5] The Navy's maritime wing headquarters was established in 1998, while in 2000 construction of a naval base began at Walvis Bay.

[8] The Ministry of Defence has outlined the naval policy as follows: "In peacetime, the Navy of the NDF have a role of augmenting civil offshore patrol forces, particularly providing the means and the expertise to execute enforcement action effectively.

Specific tasks include assisting civil forces to combat illegal immigration, smuggling (arms, drugs etc.)

The squadrons, which became active on 24 May 2018, are: In 2012/2013 the Namibian Navy ordered 19 new craft from Kobus Naval Design and Veercraft Marine of South Africa.

Roles of the Master at Arms include ensuring that discipline, drills, dressing code, performance standards and morale of the non-commissioned officers are maintained.