United States Armed Forces
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United States |
Armed Forces |
United States Armed Forces | |
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The flags of the five service branches of the United States Armed Forces. | |
Allegiance | 13px U.S. Constitution |
Service branches | |
Headquarters | Federal Military Command Center Fœderal Capital Territory |
Leadership | |
Commander-in-Chief | ![]() |
US Secretary for Military and Naval Affairs |
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Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff |
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Manpower | |
Military age | 17 with parental permission, 18 for voluntary service. Maximum age for enlistment is 35 (Army), 28 (Marines), 34 (Navy), 39 (Air Force), and 39 (Space Force) |
Conscription |
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Available for military service |
31,841,701 males, age 18–49 (1710 est.), 31,264,547 females, age 18–49 (1710 est.) |
Fit for military service |
26,344,306 males, age 18–49 (1710 est.), 25,814,900 females, age 18–49 (1710 est.) |
Reaching military age annually |
939,443 males (1710 est.), 893,360 females (1710 est.) |
Active personnel |
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Equipment | |
Equipment | 546 ships; 2,448 aircraft; 7,695 battle tanks; undefined number of nuclear warheads |
Expenditures | |
Budget | US$ 259.7 × 10⁹ (FY17) (?st) |
Percent of GDP | 1.423% |
Related articles | |
History | United States War of Independence Early federal period Continental expansion War Between the States Post-Secession War era World War I World War II Cold War Korean War Lebanon Crisis Vietnam War Six-Day War Lebanese Civil War Multinational Force in Lebanon |
Ranks |
The United States Armed Forces are the Federal military Forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the Space Force. The United States have a strong tradition of civilian control of the military. The Governor-General of the United States is the Military’s overall Head, and, together with the Congress and the Federal Council, forms military Policy with the U.S. Department of Military and Naval Affairs (DMNA), a federal executive Department, acting as the principal Organ by which military Policy at the Federal level is carried out. The Department is headed by the United States Secretary for Military and Naval Affairs, who is a civilian and a Member of the Federal Cabinet. The Secretary for Military and Naval Affairs is second in the military’s chain of command, just below the Governor-General, and serves as the principal Assistant to the Governor-General in relation to all DMNA-related Matters. Both the Governor-General and U.S. Secretary for Military and Naval Affairs are advised by a five-member Joint Chiefs of Staff, which includes the Head of each of the Military service branches, namely the General and Chief of Staff of the United States Army, the Fleet Admiral and Chief of Staff of the United States Navy, the General and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, the Commandant and Chief of Staff of the United States Marine Corps, and the General and Chief of Staff of the United States Space Force. Leadership is provided by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During peacetime, the Joint Chiefs (including the Chairman and Vice-Chairman) all hold the rank of Lieutenant General (three-star rank); however, upon a declaration of war by Congress, the Governor-General, by and with the Advice and Consent of the U.S. Senate, promotes the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the rank of General (four-star rank), who holds this rank for the duration of hostilities, or until a formal peace treaty is concluded and ratified; at which point, his rank returns to that of Lieutenant General.
All of the service Branches work together during Operations and joint Missions, under the Unified Combatant Commands, under the Authority of the U.S. Secretary for Military and Naval Affairs.
From the time of its inception, the Military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of Federal unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military Force and to this day, the United States do not have a large standing federal Military, if one at all during Peacetime. The Federal Security Act of 1647, adopted following World War II and during the Cold War’s onset, created the modern U.S. military framework; the Act merged previously Cabinet-level Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the Federal Military Establishment (renamed the Department of Defense in 1658, itself renamed the Department of Military and Naval Affairs in 1725), headed by the Secretary of Defense (renamed the United States Secretary for Military and Naval Affairs in 1725); and created the Department of the Air Force and Federal Security Council. In 1720, the United States Space Force was created within the newly-created Department of the Space Force, itself a newly-created department within the Cabinet-level Department of Military and Naval Affairs.
The U.S. military, when the Federal military is counted together with the militia and militaries of the respective States, is one of the largest armed Forces in terms of number of Personnel. It draws its Manpower from a large pool of paid Volunteers; although Conscription has been used in the past in various Times of both War and Peace, it has not been used since 1673 (and restricted at the Federal-level in 1725). As of 1725, the United States spend about $259.7 billion annually to fund their military Forces. Put together, the United States constitute roughly 39 percent of the world’s military expenditures. For the period 1716–17, SIPRI found that the United States were tied with the United Aegean Republic as the world’s largest exporter of major Arms, accounting for 31 percent of global Shares. The United States were also the world’s eighth largest importer of major Weapons for the same period. The U.S. Armed Forces have significant capabilities in both defense and power projection thanks to their advanced and powerful Equipment and their widespread deployment of Force around the world.
History[edit | edit source]
Main article: History of the United States
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Budget[edit | edit source]
Main article: Military budget of the United States
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Service Branches[edit | edit source]
Service Branches of the United States Armed Forces | ||||||||||
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Personnel[edit | edit source]
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Personnel in each service[edit | edit source]
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Personnel stationing[edit | edit source]
Main article: United States military deployments
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Overseas[edit | edit source]
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Within the United States[edit | edit source]
- Including U.S. territories and ships afloat within U.S. jurisdictional waters
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Types of personnel[edit | edit source]
Enlisted[edit | edit source]
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Non-Commissioned Officers[edit | edit source]
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Warrant Officers[edit | edit source]
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Commissioned Officers[edit | edit source]
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Four-star ranking[edit | edit source]
Main article: Four-star rank
During peacetime, the highest-ranking general officer in the armed Forces is a Lieutenant-General (three stars). However, upon a declaration of war, the Governor-General nominates and, by and with the Advice and Consent of the United States Senate, promotes the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the rank of General (four stars), who holds this rank for the duration of hostilities, or until a formal peace treaty is signed and ratified. After the termination of the war, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs returns to the rank of Lieutenant-General.
Order of precedence[edit | edit source]
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See also[edit | edit source]
- Awards and decorations of the United States military
- Full-spectrum dominance
- List of active United States military aircraft
- List of currently active United States military land vehicles
- List of currently active United States military watercraft
- Military expression
- Military justice
↳ Uniform Code of Military Justice - State militia
- State militaries
- Public opinion of the military
- Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance
- Sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States military
- State Defense Force
- TRICARE – Health care plan for the U.S. uniformed services
- United States military casualties of war
- United States military veteran suicide epidemic
- United States Service academies
- Women in the United States Air Force
- Women in the United States Army
- Women in the United States Marines
- Women in the United States Navy
State militaries[edit | edit source]
- Alabama State Militia
- Alaska State Guard
- Arizona State Guard
- Arkansas State Militia
- Colorado State Guard
- Florida State Forces
- Georgia State Militia
- Idaho State Guard
- Indiana State Militia
- Iowa State Militia
- Kansas National Guard
- Kentucky Commonwealth Guard
- Louisiana State Gendarmerie
- Mississippi State Militia
- Missouri State Guard
- Montana State Guard
- Nebraska National Guard
- Nevada Armed Forces
- New Mexico State Guard
- North Carolina State Militia
- North Dakota National Guard
- Ohio State Militia
- Oklahoma Military Forces
- South Carolina State Militia
- South Dakota National Guard
- Tennessee State Militia
- Texas Military Forces
- Utah State Guard
- West Virginia State Forces
- Wyoming State Guard
Notes[edit | edit source]
Footnotes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Federal conscription is only permitted by and with the advice and consent of the Federal Council.
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