United States Armed Forces
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of America. They are composed of the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, and the Marine Corps. Each branch plays a unique role in the security of America. Whether the country is participating in a conflict or developing the weapons of tomorrow, the freedom of America is protected by these branches. The Army, Navy, and Air Force represent the largest of the five branches, each having their own department in the Department of Defense. While they all work together to some extent, their purposes can be very different. The United States Army is the oldest branch of the military. It was established 14 June 1775. The Army is the largest branch of all the branches with over 550,000 active duty personnel. The Army serves as the land-based branch of the U.S. military. The Army does however operate aviation units of both fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft, the majority of service members are land forces. The primary mission of the Army is "to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders." (1). The land forces of the Army are led by members of the infantry. Infantry is more physically demanding than other jobs in the Army, and places a greater emphasis on discipline, fitness, physical strength and aggression. The infantry is a weapon system in its self. It is the backbone of the Army. Infantry experience the highest number of casualties during any conflict because of the constant requirement of being face to face with the enemy. The United States Air Force is the most recent branch of the military. It was officially established on 18 September 1947. Before this the USAF was known as the U.S. Army Air Forces. It was operated and maintained by the Army during World War II until the National Security Act of 1947 which formed the modern
Cited: The United States Army. “Info: Organization.” www.army.mil. 2011. 08 Mar. 2012