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The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. As of fiscal year 2002 (FY02), it consisted of 480,000 soldiers on active duty and 555,000 in reserve (350,000 in the Army National Guard (ARNG) and 205,000 in the Army Reserve (USAR)). The Army was formed on June 14, 1775, before the establishment of the United States, to meet the demands of the American Revolutionary War.
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Prior to 1918, the Army was a single entity known as the United States Army. During the First World War, the National Army was founded to fight the conflict. In the 1920s and 1930s, the "career" soldiers were known as the Regular Army with the Enlisted Reserve Corps and Officer Reserve Corps augmented to fill vacancies when needed.
In 1941, the Army of the United States was founded to fight the Second World War. The Regular Army, Army of the United States, and Officer/Enlisted Reserve Corps (ORC and ERC) existed simultaneously giving rise to the first concept of Army components. After World War II, the ORC and ERC were combined into the United States Army Reserve. The Army of the United States continued throughout the Korean War and Vietnam War and was discontinued upon the abolishment of the draft.
In the modern age, the Army is divided into the Regular Army and the Army Reserve. The United States National Guard is an armed force under the command of state governments. Prior to the 21st century, members of the National Guard were considered state employees only unless federalized by the Army in which case National Guard members became members of the Army Reserve. In the modern age, all National Guard members hold dual status as Guardsman (under the authority of the State Adjutant General) and Army Reservists under the authority of the Army Human Resources Command.
By design, the use of the Army Reserve and National Guard has increased since the Vietnam War. Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War, peacekeeping in Kosovo, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Officially, a member of the U.S. Army is called a Soldier which is written with a capital letter.
The U.S. Army is structured:
The Army is organized by function. Combat forces include Infantry, Armor, Cavalry, Artillery, and Special Forces. Combat support troops include Army Aviation, Army Corps of Engineers, Quartermaster Corps, Medical Corps, Transportation Corps, Ordnance Corps, Adjutant General's Corps, Signal Corps, Intelligence Corps. Support troops include the Judge Advocate General's Corps.
The Officer Corps provides leadership and managerial functions, and is composed of
There are several sources of commissioned officers:
Officers receive a commission assigning them to the Officer Corps from the President. All newly commissioned officers receive a commission as a reserve officer. Upon attaining the rank of Major, they can be appointed into the Regular Army by the President with the advice and consent of the United States Senate [1] (http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/10/531.html). Commissioned officers are assigned to a branch of service until they reach the rank of Brigadier General, where it is assumed that they are competent to command soldiers of all branches.
Once commissioned, an officer attends several levels of professional education, starting with branch qualification in their respective branch and concluding in Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Professional education is required for promotion at certain grades.
The Warrant Officer is a single track specialty officer. Initially appointed an officer by the Secretary of the Army via a warrant, he/she is commissioned by the President upon promotion to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2). The warrant officer is managed as a company grade officer, but receives limited field grade privilege upon promotion to Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4).
The primary source for Warrant Officers is the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
The Non-Commissioned Officer Corps (or NCO Corps) is the first line of leadership for the enlisted members of the Army, and includes the ranks of
Training for NCOs takes place at any of the various NCO training centers around the world.
The quality of the NCO has built the reputation of the United States Army. Until relatively recent history, most countries depended upon their officer corps to micromanage strategy, tactics and virtually every other aspect of military operations. With the development of the NCO Corps, the United States Army took a giant step toward utilizing the good leadership traits of its soldiers during times of conflict. The confidence and esteem in which the Officer Corps holds the NCOs which serve in the United States Army is based upon hard-won combat experience. This experience has repeatedly shown that rank is no indicator of leadership ability, and that leaders will emerge during times of hardship and conflict.
The lowest enlisted ranks are:
Training for enlisted soldiers usually consists of Basic Training, and Advanced Individual Training in their primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) at any of the numerous MOS training facilities around the world.
All members of the Army must take an oath upon being sworn in as members, swearing (or affirming) to "protect the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic." This emphasis on the defense of the United States Constitution illustrates the concern of the framers that the military be subordinate to legitimate civilian authority.
The civilian executive is the Secretary of the Army who heads the United States Department of the
Army, formerly called the Secretary of War who headed the
United States Department of War or
the War Office for short, at the founding of the Republic.
The professional head of the United States Army is the Army Chief of Staff. This position is filled by a four star general who sits on the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. As with the other members of that committee, the Army Chief of Staff is not in the direct chain of command. His function is administrative and policy making. The current Army Chief of Staff is General Peter J. Schoomaker.
The most senior Army generals who are directly in the chain of command are those who head up the regional joint commands around the world. An example is General John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command. Three star positions in the Army include some deputy commanders of the regional commands, heads of the army sections of those commands, and the general officers commanding of corps.
Major Commands of the US Army
| Major Command and Commanders | Location of Headquarters |
|---|---|
| Intelligence & Security Command (http://www.inscom.army.mil/) (INSCOM)-Major General John F. Kimmons | Fort Belvoir, Virginia |
| Criminal Investigation Command (http://www.belvoir.army.mil/cidc/) (CID)-Major General Donald J. Ryder | Fort Belvoir, Virginia |
| Corps of Engineers (http://www.usace.army.mil/) (USACE)- Lieutenant General Carl A. Strock | Washington, D.C. |
| Medical Command (MEDCOM)-Lieutenant General James B. Peake | Fort Sam Houston, Texas |
| Army Materiel Command (http://www.amc.army.mil/) (AMC)-General Paul J. Kern | Alexandria, Virginia |
| Training & Doctrine Command (http://www.tradoc.army.mil/) (TRADOC)-Lieutenant General Larry R. Jordan | Fort Monroe, Virginia |
| Forces Command (http://www.forscom.army.mil/) (FORSCOM)-General Dan K. McNeill | Fort McPherson, Georgia |
| US Army South (http://www.usarso.army.mil/) (USARSO)-Major General Jack D. Gardner | Fort Sam Houston, Texas |
| Special Operations Command (http://www.soc.mil/hqs/hqs_home.htm) (USASOC)-Lieutenant General Philip R. Kensinger | Fort Bragg, North Carolina |
| Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (http://www.sddc.army.mil/) (SDDC)- Brigadier General Charles W. (Charlie) Fletcher, Jr. | Fort Eustis, Alexandria, Virginia |
| Space & Missile Defense Command (http://www.smdc.army.mil/) (SMDC)-Lieutenant General Joseph M. Cosumano, Jr. | Arlington, Virginia |
| 8th US Army (EUSA)-Lieutenant General Charles C. Campbell | Yongsan Army Garrison, Seoul |
| Army Pacific Command (http://www.usarpac.army.mil/) (USARPAC)-Lieutenant General John M. Brown III | Fort Shafter, Hawaii |
| US Army Europe & 7th Army (http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/) (USAREUR)-General B. B. Bell | Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg, Germany |
| Army Central Command (http://www.arcent.army.mil/index.html) (ARCENT)-Lieutenant General David D. McKiernan | Fort McPherson, Georgia |
| Army Reserve Command (http://www.army.mil/usar/) (ARC)-Lieutenant General James R. Helmly | Fort McPherson, Georgia |
| Army National Guard (http://www.arng.army.mil/) (ARNG)-Lieutenant General Roger G. Schultz | Washington, D.C. |
First Army "First In Deed" (Reserve)
Third Army: Army Central Command (ARCENT)
Seventh Army: United States Army Europe
Eighth Army: Korea
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