United States Army

United States Army
Military service mark of the United States Army[1] Army Star logo
Founded	14 June 1775 (1775-06-14)[a] (247 years ago)[2][3]
Country	United States
Type	Army
Role	Prompt and sustained land combat Combined arms operations Combined arms maneuver and wide area security Armored and mechanized operations Airborne and air assault operations Special operations Set and sustain the theater for the joint force Integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land
Size	485,000 Regular Army personnel (2021)[4] 336,000 Army National Guard personnel (2021) 189,500 Army Reserve personnel (2021)[4] 1,005,725 total uniformed personnel 252,747 civilian personnel (30 September 2020) 1,258,472 total 4,406 crewed aircraft[5]
Part of	United States Armed Forces Department of the Army
Headquarters	The Pentagon Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Motto(s)	"This We'll Defend"
Colors	Black, gold and white[6][7]
March	"The Army Goes Rolling Along" Play (help·info)
Mascot(s)	Army Mules
Anniversaries	Army Birthday: 14 June
Equipment	List of U.S. Army equipment
Engagements	See list Revolutionary War War of 1812 Mexican–American War Civil War Indian Wars Spanish–American War China Relief Expedition Philippine–American War Mexican Expedition World War I Russian Civil War Bonus Army suppression World War II Korean War 1958 Lebanon crisis Vietnam War Dominican Civil War Korean DMZ Conflict Invasion of Grenada Invasion of Panama Somali Civil War Persian Gulf War Kosovo War Global War on Terrorism War in Afghanistan Iraq War Operation Inherent Resolve[8] Battle of Khasham
Website	Army.mil
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Joe Biden
Secretary of Defense	Lloyd Austin
Secretary of the Army	Christine Wormuth
Chief of Staff	GEN James C. McConville[9]
Vice Chief of Staff	GEN Joseph M. Martin[10]
Sergeant Major of the Army	SMA Michael A. Grinston[11]
Insignia
Flag
Field flag[b]

United States Armed Forces
Executive departments
Department of Defense Department of Homeland Security
Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Military departments
Department of the Army Department of the Navy Department of the Air Force
Military service branches
United States Army United States Marine Corps United States Navy United States Air Force United States Space Force United States Coast Guard
Command structure
Unified combatant commands Africa Command Central Command Cyber Command European Command Indo-Pacific Command Northern Command Southern Command Space Command Special Operations Command Strategic Command Transportation Command
Combat support agencies Defense Contract Management Agency Defense Health Agency Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Defense Logistics Agency Defense Threat Reduction Agency National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency National Security Agency / Central Security Service
v t e

The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.^[12] The oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence,^[13] the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed 14 June 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States was established as a country.^[14] After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.^[15][16] The United States Army considers itself to be a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775.^[14]

The U.S. Army is a uniformed service of the United States and is part of the Department of the Army, which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the secretary of the Army (SECARMY) and by a chief military officer, the chief of staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is the largest military branch, and in the fiscal year 2020, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 480,893 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 336,129 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) had 188,703 soldiers; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,005,725 soldiers.^[17] As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders".^[18] The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States.

Mission

The United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Section 7062 of Title 10, U.S. Code defines the purpose of the army as:^[19][20]

• Preserving the peace and security and providing for the defense of the United States, the Commonwealths and possessions and any areas occupied by the United States
• Supporting the national policies
• Implementing the national objectives
• Overcoming any nations responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace and security of the United States

In 2018, the Army Strategy 2018 articulated an eight-point addendum to the Army Vision for 2028.^[21] While the Army Mission remains constant, the Army Strategy builds upon the Army's Brigade Modernization by adding focus to Corps and Division-level echelons.^[21] Modernization, reform for high-intensity conflict, and Joint multi-domain operations are added to the strategy, to be completed by 2028.^[21]

The Army's five core competencies are prompt and sustained land combat, combined arms operations (to include combined arms maneuver and wide–area security, armored and mechanized operations and airborne and air assault operations), special operations, to set and sustain the theater for the joint force, and to integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land.^[22]

History

Origins

The Continental Army was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress^[23] as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain, with George Washington appointed as its commander.^{[14][24][25][26]} The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources and military thinking helped shape the new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills.

The storming of Redoubt No. 10 in the Siege of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War prompted Great Britain's government to begin negotiations, resulting in the Treaty of Paris and Great Britain's recognition of the United States as an independent state.

The Army fought numerous pitched battles and in the South in 1780 and 1781, at times using the Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics, under the leadership of Major General Nathanael Greene, hit where the British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at Trenton and Princeton, but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the Philadelphia campaign in 1777. With a decisive victory at Yorktown and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British.

After the war, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became the new nation's sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans, it was soon realized that it was necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army was at first very small and after General St. Clair's defeat at the Battle of the Wabash,^[27] where more than 800 Americans were killed, the Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States, which was established in 1791 and renamed the United States Army in 1796.

In 1798, during the Quasi-War with France, Congress established a three-year "Provisional Army" of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and six troops of light dragoons. By March 1799 Congress created an "Eventual Army" of 30,000 men, including three regiments of cavalry. Both "armies" existed only on paper, but equipment for 3,000 men and horses was procured and stored.^[28]

19th century

Early wars on the Frontier

General Andrew Jackson standing on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking Highlanders during the defense of New Orleans, the final major and most one-sided battle of the War of 1812

The War of 1812, the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. The U.S. Army did not conquer Canada but it did destroy Native American resistance to expansion in the Old Northwest and it validated its independence by stopping two major British invasions in 1814 and 1815. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U.S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh, which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U.S. victories in the Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops who had dubbed the U.S. Army "Regulars, by God!", were able to capture and burn Washington, which was defended by militia, in 1814. The regular army, however, proved they were professional and capable of defeating the British army during the invasions of Plattsburgh and Baltimore, prompting British agreement on the previously rejected terms of a status quo antebellum. Two weeks after a treaty was signed (but not ratified), Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and Siege of Fort St. Philip, and became a national hero. U.S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane, Levant and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides (the United States and Great Britain) returned to the geographical status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict.

The army's major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles. It took long wars (1818–1858) to finally defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma. The usual strategy in Indian wars was to seize control of the Indians' winter food supply, but that was no use in Florida where there was no winter. The second strategy was to form alliances with other Indian tribes, but that too was useless because the Seminoles had destroyed all the other Indians when they entered Florida in the late eighteenth century.^[29]

The U.S. Army fought and won the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), which was a defining event for both countries.^[30] The U.S. victory resulted in acquisition of territory that eventually became all or parts of the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico.

American Civil War

The Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War

The American Civil War was the costliest war for the U.S. in terms of casualties. After most slave states, located in the southern U.S., formed the Confederate States, the Confederate States Army, led by former U.S. Army officers, mobilized a large fraction of Southern white manpower. Forces of the United States (the "Union" or "the North") formed the Union Army, consisting of a small body of regular army units and a large body of volunteer units raised from every state, north and south, except South Carolina.^[31]

For the first two years, Confederate forces did well in set battles but lost control of the border states.^[32] The Confederates had the advantage of defending a large territory in an area where disease caused twice as many deaths as combat. The Union pursued a strategy of seizing the coastline, blockading the ports, and taking control of the river systems. By 1863, the Confederacy was being strangled. Its eastern armies fought well, but the western armies were defeated one after another until the Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 along with the Tennessee River. In the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862–1863, General Ulysses Grant seized the Mississippi River and cut off the Southwest. Grant took command of Union forces in 1864 and after a series of battles with very heavy casualties, he had General Robert E. Lee under siege in Richmond as General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta and marched through Georgia and the Carolinas. The Confederate capital was abandoned in April 1865 and Lee subsequently surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House. All other Confederate armies surrendered within a few months.

The war remains the deadliest conflict in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 men on both sides. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6.4% in the North and 18% in the South.^[33]

Later 19th century

Army soldiers in 1890

Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army had the mission of containing western tribes of Native Americans on the Indian reservations. They set up many forts, and engaged in the last of the American Indian Wars. U.S. Army troops also occupied several Southern states during the Reconstruction Era to protect freedmen.

The key battles of the Spanish–American War of 1898 were fought by the Navy. Using mostly new volunteers, the U.S. forces defeated Spain in land campaigns in Cuba and played the central role in the Philippine–American War.

20th century

Starting in 1910, the army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft.^[34] In 1910, during the Mexican Revolution, the army was deployed to U.S. towns near the border to ensure the safety of lives and property. In 1916, Pancho Villa, a major rebel leader, attacked Columbus, New Mexico, prompting a U.S. intervention in Mexico until 7 February 1917. They fought the rebels and the Mexican federal troops until 1918.

World wars

U.S. Army troops assaulting a German bunker in France, c. 1918

The United States joined World War I as an "Associated Power" in 1917 on the side of Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the other Allies. U.S. troops were sent to the Western Front and were involved in the last offensives that ended the war. With the armistice in November 1918, the army once again decreased its forces.

In 1939, estimates of the Army's strength range between 174,000 and 200,000 soldiers, smaller than that of Portugal's, which ranked it 17th or 19th in the world in size. General George C. Marshall became Army chief of staff in September 1939 and set about expanding and modernizing the Army in preparation for war.^[35][36]

U.S. soldiers hunting for Japanese infiltrators during the Bougainville Campaign

The United States joined World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Some 11 million Americans were to serve in various Army operations.^[37][38] On the European front, U.S. Army troops formed a significant portion of the forces that landed in French North Africa and took Tunisia and then moved on to Sicily and later fought in Italy. In the June 1944 landings in northern France and in the subsequent liberation of Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany, millions of U.S. Army troops played a central role.

In the Pacific War, U.S. Army soldiers participated alongside the United States Marine Corps in capturing the Pacific Islands from Japanese control. Following the Axis surrenders in May (Germany) and August (Japan) of 1945, army troops were deployed to Japan and Germany to occupy the two defeated nations. Two years after World War II, the Army Air Forces separated from the army to become the United States Air Force in September 1947. In 1948, the army was desegregated by order 9981 of President Harry S. Truman.

Cold War

1945–1960

U.S. Army soldiers observing an atomic bomb test of Operation Buster-Jangle at the Nevada Test Site during the Korean War

The end of World War II set the stage for the East–West confrontation known as the Cold War. With the outbreak of the Korean War, concerns over the defense of Western Europe rose. Two corps, V and VII, were reactivated under Seventh United States Army in 1950 and U.S. strength in Europe rose from one division to four. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops remained stationed in West Germany, with others in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, until the 1990s in anticipation of a possible Soviet attack.^{[39]: minute 9:00–10:00}

US tanks and Soviet tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, 1961

During the Cold War, U.S. troops and their allies fought communist forces in Korea and Vietnam. The Korean War began in June 1950, when the Soviets walked out of a UN Security Council meeting, removing their possible veto. Under a United Nations umbrella, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops fought to prevent the takeover of South Korea by North Korea and later to invade the northern nation. After repeated advances and retreats by both sides and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's entry into the war, the Korean Armistice Agreement returned the peninsula to the status quo in July 1953.

1960–1970

The Vietnam War is often regarded as a low point for the U.S. Army due to the use of drafted personnel, the unpopularity of the war with the U.S. public and frustrating restrictions placed on the military by U.S. political leaders. While U.S. forces had been stationed in South Vietnam since 1959, in intelligence and advising/training roles, they were not deployed in large numbers until 1965, after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. U.S. forces effectively established and maintained control of the "traditional" battlefield, but they struggled to counter the guerrilla hit and run tactics of the communist Viet Cong and the People's Army Of Vietnam (NVA).^[40][41]

A U.S. Army infantry patrol moving up to assault the last North Vietnamese Army position at Dak To, South Vietnam during Operation Hawthorne

During the 1960s, the Department of Defense continued to scrutinize the reserve forces and to question the number of divisions and brigades as well as the redundancy of maintaining two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve.^[42] In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in the Army National Guard were unnecessary and cut the number to eight divisions (one mechanized infantry, two armored, and five infantry), but increased the number of brigades from seven to 18 (one airborne, one armored, two mechanized infantry and 14 infantry). The loss of the divisions did not sit well with the states. Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and the end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them. Under the proposal, the remaining division commanders were to reside in the state of the division base. However, no reduction in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan. The states reorganized their forces accordingly between 1 December 1967 and 1 May 1968.

1970–1990

U.S. Army soldiers preparing to take La Comandancia in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City during Operation Just Cause

The Total Force Policy was adopted by Chief of Staff of the Army General Creighton Abrams in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and involved treating the three components of the army – the Regular Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve as a single force.^[43] General Abrams' intertwining of the three components of the army effectively made extended operations impossible without the involvement of both the Army National Guard and Army Reserve in a predominately combat support role.^[44] The army converted to an all-volunteer force with greater emphasis on training to specific performance standards driven by the reforms of General William E. DePuy, the first commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. Following the Camp David Accords that was signed by Egypt, Israel that was brokered by president Jimmy Carter in 1978, as part of the agreement, both the United States and Egypt agreed that there would be a joint military training led by both countries that would usually take place every 2 years, that exercise is known as Exercise Bright Star.

The 1980s was mostly a decade of reorganization. The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 created unified combatant commands bringing the army together with the other four military services under unified, geographically organized command structures. The army also played a role in the invasions of Grenada in 1983 (Operation Urgent Fury) and Panama in 1989 (Operation Just Cause).

By 1989 Germany was nearing reunification and the Cold War was coming to a close. Army leadership reacted by starting to plan for a reduction in strength. By November 1989 Pentagon briefers were laying out plans to reduce army end strength by 23%, from 750,000 to 580,000.^[45] A number of incentives such as early retirement were used.

1990s

M1 Abrams tanks moving out before the Battle of Al Busayyah during the Gulf War

In 1990, Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor, Kuwait, and U.S. land forces quickly deployed to assure the protection of Saudi Arabia. In January 1991 Operation Desert Storm commenced, a U.S.-led coalition which deployed over 500,000 troops, the bulk of them from U.S. Army formations, to drive out Iraqi forces. The campaign ended in total victory, as Western coalition forces routed the Iraqi Army. Some of the largest tank battles in history were fought during the Gulf war. The Battle of Medina Ridge, Battle of Norfolk and the Battle of 73 Easting were tank battles of historical significance.^[46][47][48]

Iraqi tanks destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry during the Gulf War, February 1991

After Operation Desert Storm, the army did not see major combat operations for the remainder of the 1990s but did participate in a number of peacekeeping activities. In 1990 the Department of Defense issued guidance for "rebalancing" after a review of the Total Force Policy,^[49] but in 2004, Air War College scholars concluded the guidance would reverse the Total Force Policy which is an "essential ingredient to the successful application of military force".^[50]

21st century

U.S. Army Rangers taking part in a raid during an operation in Nahr-e Saraj, Afghanistan

On 11 September 2001, 53 Army civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers were among the 125 victims killed in the Pentagon in a terrorist attack when American Airlines Flight 77 commandeered by five Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed into the western side of the building, as part of the September 11 attacks.^[51] In response to the September 11 attacks and as part of the Global War on Terror, U.S. and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, displacing the Taliban government. The U.S. Army also led the combined U.S. and allied invasion of Iraq in 2003; it served as the primary source for ground forces with its ability to sustain short and long-term deployment operations. In the following years, the mission changed from conflict between regular militaries to counterinsurgency, resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members (as of March 2008) and injuries to thousands more.^[52][53] 23,813 insurgents were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.^[54]

U.S. Army soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division returning fire during a firefight with Taliban forces in Barawala Kalay Valley in Kunar province, Afghanistan, March 2011

Until 2009, the army's chief modernization plan, its most ambitious since World War II,^[55] was the Future Combat Systems program. In 2009, many systems were canceled, and the remaining were swept into the BCT modernization program.^[56] By 2017, the Brigade Modernization project was completed and its headquarters, the Brigade Modernization Command, was renamed the Joint Modernization Command, or JMC.^[57] In response to Budget sequestration in 2013, Army plans were to shrink to 1940 levels,^[58] although actual Active-Army end-strengths were projected to fall to some 450,000 troops by the end of FY2017.^[59][60] From 2016 to 2017, the Army retired hundreds of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopters,^[61] while retaining its Apache gunships.^[62] The 2015 expenditure for Army research, development and acquisition changed from $32 billion projected in 2012 for FY15 to $21 billion for FY15 expected in 2014.^[63]

Organization

Organization of the United States Army within the Department of Defense

Planning

By 2017, a task force was formed to address Army modernization,^[64] which triggered shifts of units: RDECOM, and ARCIC, from within Army Materiel Command (AMC), and TRADOC, respectively, to a new Army Command (ACOM) in 2018.^[65] The Army Futures Command (AFC), is a peer of FORSCOM, TRADOC, and AMC, the other ACOMs.^[66] AFC's mission is modernization reform: to design hardware, as well as to work within the acquisition process which defines materiel for AMC. TRADOC's mission is to define the architecture and organization of the Army, and to train and supply soldiers to FORSCOM.^{[67]: minutes 2:30–15:00 [39]} AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are Futures Command's vehicle for sustainable reform of the acquisition process for the future.^[68] In order to support the Army's modernization priorities, its FY2020 budget allocated $30 billion for the top six modernization priorities over the next five years.^[69] The $30 billion came from $8 billion in cost avoidance and $22 billion in terminations.^[69]

Army Components

U.S. Army organization chart^[70]

The task of organizing the U.S. Army commenced in 1775.^[71] In the first one hundred years of its existence, the United States Army was maintained as a small peacetime force to man permanent forts and perform other non-wartime duties such as engineering and construction works. During times of war, the U.S. Army was augmented by the much larger United States Volunteers which were raised independently by various state governments. States also maintained full-time militias which could also be called into the service of the army.

Senior American commanders of the European theatre of World War II. *Seated are (from left to right) Generals William H. Simpson, George S. Patton, Carl A. Spaatz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Courtney H. Hodges, and Leonard T. Gerow
*standing are (from left to right) Generals Ralph F. Stearley, Hoyt Vandenberg, Walter Bedell Smith, Otto P. Weyland, and Richard E. Nugent

By the twentieth century, the U.S. Army had mobilized the U.S. Volunteers on four occasions during each of the major wars of the nineteenth century. During World War I, the "National Army" was organized to fight the conflict, replacing the concept of U.S. Volunteers.^[72] It was demobilized at the end of World War I, and was replaced by the Regular Army, the Organized Reserve Corps and the state militias. 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.^[73]

In 1941, the "Army of the United States" was founded to fight World War II. The Regular Army, Army of the United States, the National Guard and Officer/Enlisted Reserve Corps (ORC and ERC) existed simultaneously. After World War II, the ORC and ERC were combined into the United States Army Reserve. The Army of the United States was re-established for the Korean War and Vietnam War and was demobilized upon the suspension of the draft.^[73]

Currently, the Army is divided into the Regular Army, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard.^[72] Some states further maintain state defense forces, as a type of reserve to the National Guard, while all states maintain regulations for state militias.^[74] State militias are both "organized", meaning that they are armed forces usually part of the state defense forces, or "unorganized" simply meaning that all able-bodied males may be eligible to be called into military service.

The U.S. Army is also divided into several branches and functional areas. Branches include officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers while functional areas consist of officers who are reclassified from their former branch into a functional area. However, officers continue to wear the branch insignia of their former branch in most cases, as functional areas do not generally have discrete insignia. Some branches, such as Special Forces, operate similarly to functional areas in that individuals may not join their ranks until having served in another Army branch. Careers in the Army can extend into cross-functional areas for officer,^[75] warrant officer, enlisted, and civilian personnel.

U.S. Army branches and functional areas

Branch	Insignia and colors		Branch	Insignia and colors		Functional Area (FA)
Acquisition Corps (AC)			Air Defense Artillery (AD)			Information Network Engineering (FA 26)
Adjutant General's Corps (AG) Includes Army Bands (AB)			Armor (AR) Includes Cavalry (CV)			Information Operations (FA 30)
Aviation (AV)			Civil Affairs Corps (CA)			Strategic Intelligence (FA 34)
Chaplain Corps (CH)			Chemical Corps (CM)			Space Operations (FA 40)
Cyber Corps (CY)			Dental Corps (DC)			Public Affairs Officer (FA 46)
Corps of Engineers (EN)			Field Artillery (FA)			Academy Professor (FA 47)
Finance Corps (FI)			Infantry (IN)			Foreign Area Officer (FA 48)
Inspector General (IG)			Logistics (LG)			Operations Research/Systems Analysis (FA 49)
Judge Advocate General's Corps (JA)			Military Intelligence Corps (MI)			Force Management (FA 50)
Medical Corps (MC)			Medical Service Corps (MS)			Acquisition (FA 51)[75]
Military Police Corps (MP)			Army Nurse Corps (AN)			Simulation Operations (FA 57)
Psychological Operations (PO)			Medical Specialist Corps (SP)			Army Marketing (FA 58)[76]
Quartermaster Corps (QM)			Staff Specialist Corps (SS) (USAR and ARNG only)			Health Services (FA 70)
Special Forces (SF)			Ordnance Corps (OD)			Laboratory Sciences (FA 71)
Veterinary Corps (VC)			Public Affairs (PA)			Preventive Medicine Sciences (FA 72)
Transportation Corps (TC)			Signal Corps (SC)			Behavioral Sciences (FA 73)
Special branch insignias (for some unique duty assignments)
National Guard Bureau (NGB)			General Staff			U.S. Military Academy Staff
Chaplain Candidate			Officer Candidate			Warrant Officer Candidate
Aide-de-camp						Senior Enlisted Advisor (SEA)

Before 1933, members of the Army National Guard were considered state militia until they were mobilized into the U.S. Army, typically on the onset of war. Since the 1933 amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916, all Army National Guard soldiers have held dual status. They serve as National Guardsmen under the authority of the governor of their state or territory and as reserve members of the U.S. Army under the authority of the president, in the Army National Guard of the United States.

Since the adoption of the total force policy, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, reserve component soldiers have taken a more active role in U.S. military operations. For example, Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War, peacekeeping in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Army commands and army service component commands

Headquarters, United States Department of the Army (HQDA):

Army Commands	Current commander	Location of headquarters
United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)	GEN Andrew P. Poppas	Fort Bragg, North Carolina
United States Army Futures Command (AFC)	LTG James M. Richardson Acting	Austin, Texas
United States Army Materiel Command (AMC)	GEN Edward M. Daly	Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)	GEN Paul E. Funk II	Fort Eustis, Virginia
Army Service Component Commands	Current commander	Location of headquarters
United States Army Central (ARCENT)/Third Army	LTG Patrick D. Frank	Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
United States Army Europe and Africa/Seventh Army	GEN Darryl A. Williams[77]	Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany
United States Army North (ARNORTH)/Fifth Army	LTG John R. Evans Jr.	Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
United States Army Pacific (USARPAC)	GEN Charles A. Flynn	Fort Shafter, Hawaii
United States Army South (ARSOUTH)/Sixth Army	MG William L. Thigpen	Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC)[78]	MG Heidi J. Hoyle[79]	Scott AFB, Illinois
United States Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER)[80][81][82]	LTG Maria B. Barrett	Fort Belvoir, Virginia[83]
United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command/United States Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT)	LTG Daniel L. Karbler	Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC)	LTG Jonathan P. Braga	Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Operational Force Headquarters	Current commander	Location of headquarters
Eighth Army (EUSA)[84]	LTG Willard M. Burleson III	Camp Humphreys, South Korea
Direct reporting units	Current commander	Location of headquarters
Arlington National Cemetery and Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery[85]	Katharine Kelley[86] (civilian)	Arlington, Virginia
Military Postal Service Agency[87]		Arlington, Virginia
United States Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC)[88]	Craig A. Spisak[89] (civilian)	Fort Belvoir, Virginia
United States Army Civilian Human Resources Agency (CHRA)[90]	Carol Burton[91] (civilian)	Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)	LTG Scott A. Spellmon[92]	Washington, D.C.
United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (USACID)	Gregory D. Ford	Quantico, Virginia
United States Army Human Resources Command (HRC)[93]	MG Thomas R. Drew	Fort Knox, Kentucky
United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM)	MG Michele H. Bredenkamp	Fort Belvoir, Virginia
United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM)	LTG R. Scott Dingle	Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
United States Army Military District of Washington (MDW)	MG Allan M. Pepin	Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
United States Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC)	MG James J. Gallivan[94]	Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
United States Army War College (AWC)[95]	MG David C. Hill	Carlisle, Pennsylvania
United States Military Academy (USMA)	LTG Steven W. Gilland	West Point, New York

Source: U.S. Army organization^[96]

Structure

See Structure of the United States Army for a detailed treatment of the history, components, administrative and operational structure and the branches and functional areas of the Army.

U.S. Army soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard conducting an urban cordon and search exercise as part of the army readiness and training evaluation program in the mock city of Balad at Fort Dix, New Jersey

The U.S. Army is made up of three components: the active component, the Regular Army; and two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Both reserve components are primarily composed of part-time soldiers who train once a month – known as battle assemblies or unit training assemblies (UTAs) – and conduct two to three weeks of annual training each year. Both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve are organized under Title 10 of the United States Code, while the National Guard is organized under Title 32. While the Army National Guard is organized, trained and equipped as a component of the U.S. Army, when it is not in federal service it is under the command of individual state and territorial governors. However, the District of Columbia National Guard reports to the U.S. president, not the district's mayor, even when not federalized. Any or all of the National Guard can be federalized by presidential order and against the governor's wishes.^[97]

U.S. soldiers from the 6th Infantry Regiment taking up positions on a street corner during a foot patrol in Ramadi, Iraq

The U.S. Army is led by a civilian secretary of the Army, who has the statutory authority to conduct all the affairs of the army under the authority, direction and control of the secretary of defense.^[98] The chief of staff of the Army, who is the highest-ranked military officer in the army, serves as the principal military adviser and executive agent for the secretary of the Army, i.e., its service chief; and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a body composed of the service chiefs from each of the four military services belonging to the Department of Defense who advise the president of the United States, the secretary of defense and the National Security Council on operational military matters, under the guidance of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[99][100] In 1986, the Goldwater–Nichols Act mandated that operational control of the services follows a chain of command from the president to the secretary of defense directly to the unified combatant commanders, who have control of all armed forces units in their geographic or function area of responsibility, thus the secretaries of the military departments (and their respective service chiefs underneath them) only have the responsibility to organize, train and equip their service components. The army provides trained forces to the combatant commanders for use as directed by the secretary of defense.^[101]

The 1st Cavalry Division's combat aviation brigade performing a mock charge with the horse detachment

By 2013, the army shifted to six geographical commands that align with the six geographical unified combatant commands (CCMD):

• United States Army Central headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
• United States Army North headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas
• United States Army South headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas
• United States Army Europe and Africa headquartered at Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany
• United States Army Pacific headquartered at Fort Shafter, Hawaii

U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers from the 3rd Special Forces Group patrolling a field in the Gulistan district of Farah, Afghanistan

The army also transformed its base unit from divisions to brigades. Division lineage will be retained, but the divisional headquarters will be able to command any brigade, not just brigades that carry their divisional lineage. The central part of this plan is that each brigade will be modular, i.e., all brigades of the same type will be exactly the same and thus any brigade can be commanded by any division. As specified before the 2013 end-strength re-definitions, the three major types of brigade combat teams are:

• Armored brigades, with a strength of 4,743 troops as of 2014.
• Stryker brigades, with a strength of 4,500 troops as of 2014.
• Infantry brigades, with a strength of 4,413 troops as of 2014.

In addition, there are combat support and service support modular brigades. Combat support brigades include aviation (CAB) brigades, which will come in heavy and light varieties, fires (artillery) brigades (now transforms to division artillery) and expeditionary military intelligence brigades. Combat service support brigades include sustainment brigades and come in several varieties and serve the standard support role in an army.

Combat maneuver organizations

To track the effects of the 2018 budget cuts, see Transformation of the United States Army#Divisions and brigades

The U.S. Army’s conventional combat capability currently consists of 11 active divisions and one deployable division headquarters (7th Infantry Division) as well as several independent maneuver units.

From 2013 through 2017, the Army sustained organizational and end-strength reductions after several years of growth. In June 2013, the Army announced plans to downsize to 32 active brigade combat teams by 2015 to match a reduction in active-duty strength to 490,000 soldiers. Army chief of staff Raymond Odierno projected that the Army was to shrink to "450,000 in the active component, 335,000 in the National Guard and 195,000 in U.S. Army Reserve" by 2018.^[102] However, this plan was scrapped by the incoming Trump administration, with subsequent plans to expand the Army by 16,000 soldiers to a total of 476,000 by October 2017. The National Guard and the Army Reserve will see a smaller expansion.^[103][104]

The Army’s maneuver organization was most recently altered by the reorganization of United States Army Alaska into the 11th Airborne Division, transferring the 1st and 4th Brigade Combat Teams of the 25th Infantry Division under a separate operational headquarters to reflect the brigades’ distinct, Arctic-oriented mission. As part of the reorganization, the 1–11 (formerly 1–25) Stryker Brigade Combat Team will reorganize as an Infantry Brigade Combat Team.^[105] Following this transition, the active component BCTs will number 11 Armored brigades, 6 Stryker brigades, and 14 Infantry brigades.

Within the Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve, there are a further eight divisions, 27 brigade combat teams, additional combat support and combat service support brigades, and independent cavalry, infantry, artillery, aviation, engineer and support battalions. The Army Reserve in particular provides virtually all psychological operations and civil affairs units.

United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)

Direct reporting units	Current commander	Location of headquarters
I Corps	LTG Xavier T. Brunson	Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
III Corps	LTG Robert "Pat" White	Fort Hood, Texas
V Corps	LTG John S. Kolasheski	Fort Knox, Kentucky
XVIII Airborne Corps	LTG Christopher T. Donahue	Fort Bragg, North Carolina
First Army[106]	LTG Antonio A. Aguto Jr.	Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois
U.S. Army Reserve Command[107]	LTG Jody J. Daniels	Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Security Force Assistance Command	MG Scott A. Jackson	Fort Bragg, North Carolina
20th CBRNE Command	MG Antonio Munera	Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command	BG David F. Stewart	Fort Bliss, Texas
U.S. Army Air Traffic Services Command	COL Jason T. Cook	Fort Rucker, Alabama

Active combat maneuver units
Name	Headquarters	Subunits	Subordinate to
1st Armored Division	Fort Bliss, Texas and New Mexico	3 armored BCTs (ABCTs),[108] 1 Division Artillery (DIVARTY), 1 Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), and 1 sustainment brigade	III Corps
1st Cavalry Division	Fort Hood, Texas	3 armored BCTs, 1 DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade	III Corps
1st Infantry Division	Fort Riley, Kansas	2 armored BCTs, 1 DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade	III Corps
2nd Infantry Division	Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington Camp Humphreys, South Korea	2 Stryker BCTs, 1 mechanized brigade from the ROK Army,[109] 1 DIVARTY (under administrative control of 7th ID), 1 sustainment brigade, and a stateside ABCT from another active division that is rotated in on a regular basis.	I Corps (CONUS) Eighth Army (OCONUS)
3rd Infantry Division	Fort Stewart, Georgia	2 armored BCT, 1 DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade as well as the 48th Infantry BCT of the Georgia Army National Guard	XVIII Airborne Corps
4th Infantry Division	Fort Carson, Colorado	2 Stryker BCT, 1 armored BCT, DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade	III Corps
10th Mountain Division	Fort Drum, New York	3 infantry BCTs, 1 DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade	XVIII Airborne Corps
11th Airborne Division	Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska	1 airborne infantry BCT, 1 infantry BCT, 1 DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade	I Corps
25th Infantry Division	Schofield Barracks, Hawaii	2 infantry BCTs, 1 DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade	I Corps
82nd Airborne Division	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	3 airborne infantry BCTs, 1 airborne DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 airborne sustainment brigade	XVIII Airborne Corps
101st Airborne Division	Fort Campbell, Kentucky	3 infantry BCTs, 1 DIVARTY, 1 CAB, and 1 sustainment brigade	XVIII Airborne Corps
2nd Cavalry Regiment	Rose Barracks, Vilseck, Germany	4 Stryker squadrons, 1 engineer squadron, 1 fires squadron, and 1 support squadron	U.S. Army Europe and Africa
3rd Cavalry Regiment	Fort Hood, Texas	4 Stryker squadrons, 1 fires squadron, 1 engineer squadron, and 1 support squadron (overseen by the 1st Cavalry Division)[110]	III Corps
173rd Airborne Brigade	Camp Ederle, Vicenza, Italy	3 airborne infantry battalions (including 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment of the Texas and Rhode Island Army National Guard), 1 airborne field artillery battalion, 1 airborne cavalry squadron, 1 airborne engineer battalion,[111] and 1 airborne support battalion	U.S. Army Europe and Africa

Combat maneuver units under the Army National Guard until federalized
Name	Locations	Subunits
28th Infantry Division	Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland	2nd Infantry BCT, 56th Stryker BCT, 28th CAB, 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB),[112] and the 28th Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade (SB)
29th Infantry Division	Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Florida	30th Armored BCT, 53rd Infantry BCT, 116th Infantry BCT, 29th CAB, 142nd Field Artillery Regiment, 29th Infantry Division SB, and the 226th MEB[113]
34th Infantry Division	Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Idaho	1st Armored BCT, 2nd Infantry BCT, 32nd Infantry BCT, 116th Cavalry BCT, 115th Field Artillery Brigade, 34th CAB, 34th Infantry Division SB, and the 157th MEB
35th Infantry Division	Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Georgia, Arkansas, and Nebraska	33rd Infantry BCT, 39th Infantry BCT, 45th Infantry BCT, 130th Field Artillery Brigade, 35th CAB, and the 67th MEB
36th Infantry Division	Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi	56th Infantry BCT, 72nd Infantry BCT, 256th Infantry BCT, 155th Armored BCT, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 36th CAB, 36th Infantry Division SB, and the 136th MEB
38th Infantry Division	Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee	37th Infantry BCT, 76th Infantry BCT, 138th Field Artillery Brigade, 38th CAB, 38th Infantry Division SB, and the 149th MEB
40th Infantry Division	Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington	29th Infantry BCT, 41st Infantry BCT, 79th Infantry BCT, 81st Stryker BCT, 40th CAB, and the 40th Infantry Division SB
42nd Infantry Division	New York, New Jersey and Vermont	27th Infantry BCT, 44th Infantry BCT, 86th Infantry BCT (Mountain), 197th Field Artillery Brigade, 42nd CAB, 42nd Infantry Division SB, and the 26th MEB

For a description of U.S. Army tactical organizational structure, see: a U.S. context and also a global context.

Special operations forces

United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC):^[114]

Name	Headquarters	Structure and purpose
1st Special Forces Command	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	Manages seven special forces groups designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information operations, counterproliferation of weapon of mass destruction, and security force assistance. The command also manages two psychological operations groups—tasked to work with foreign nations to induce or reinforce behavior favorable to U.S. objectives—a civil affairs brigade—that enables military commanders and U.S. ambassadors to improve relationships with various stakeholders via five battalions—and a sustainment brigade—that provides combat service support and combat health support units via three distinct battalions.
Army Special Operations Aviation Command	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	Commands, organizes, mans, trains, resources, and equips Army special operations aviation units to provide responsive, special operations aviation support to special operations forces consisting of five units, including the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
75th Ranger Regiment	Fort Benning, Georgia	In addition to a regimental headquarters, a special troops battalion, and a military intelligence battalion, the 75th Ranger Regiment has three maneuver battalions of elite airborne infantry specializing in large-scale, joint forcible entry operations and precision targeting raids. Additional capabilities include special reconnaissance, air assault, and direct action raids seizing key terrain such as airfields, destroying or securing strategic facilities, and capturing or killing enemies of the Nation. The Regiment also helps develop the equipment, technologies, training, and readiness that bridge the gap between special operations and traditional combat maneuver organizations.
John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	Selects and trains special forces, civil affairs, and psychological operations soldiers consisting of two groups and other various training units and offices.
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	Commonly referred to as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), "The Unit," Army Compartmented Element (ACE), or Task Force Green, SFOD–D is the U.S. Army's Tier 1 Special Mission Unit tasked with performing the most complex, classified, and dangerous missions directed by the National Command Authority. Under the control of Joint Special Operations Command, SFOD–D specializes in hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, direct action, and special reconnaissance against high-value targets via eight squadrons: four assault, one aviation, one clandestine, one combat support, and one nuclear disposal.[115][116]

Personnel

The Army's Talent Management Task Force (TMTF) has deployed IPPS-A,^[117] the Integrated Personnel and Pay System - Army, an app which serves the National Guard, and in 2021 the Army Reserve and Active Army. Soldiers are reminded to update their information using the legacy systems to keep their payroll and personnel information current by December 2021. IPPS-A is the Human Resources system for the Army, is now available for download for Android, or the Apple store.^[118] It will be used for future promotions and other personnel decisions. Among the changes are:

• BCAP, the Battalion Commander Assessment Program. In January 2020, over 800 majors and lieutenant colonels from all over the Army converged on Fort Knox to take part in a five-day program to select the next battalion commanders for the Army (beginning in FY2021). This process replaces the former selection process which was based solely on rank and individual reviews of past performance. From now on, more consideration will be given to an individual officer's personal preference, as part of 25 other selection criteria.^[119] "Promotion boards will now be able to see almost all substantiated adverse information".^[120] The promotion boards will be able to see anything in an officer's human resource record. Officers are encouraged to become familiar with their human resource record, and to file rebuttals to adverse information.^[120]
• Depending on the success of this initiative, other assessment programs could be instituted as well, for promotion to sergeants major,^[121] and for assessment of colonels for command.^[122]

Below are the U.S. Army ranks authorized for use today and their equivalent NATO designations. Although no living officer currently holds the rank of General of the Army, it is still authorized by Congress for use in wartime.

Commissioned officers

There are several paths to becoming a commissioned officer^[123] including the United States Military Academy, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Officer Candidate School, and direct commissioning. Regardless of which road an officer takes, the insignia are the same. Certain professions including physicians, pharmacists, nurses, lawyers and chaplains are commissioned directly into the Army.

Most army commissioned officers (those who are generalists)^[124] are promoted based on an "up or out" system. A more flexible talent management process is underway.^[124] The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980 establishes rules for the timing of promotions and limits the number of officers that can serve at any given time.

Army regulations call for addressing all personnel with the rank of general as "General (last name)" regardless of the number of stars. Likewise, both colonels and lieutenant colonels are addressed as "Colonel (last name)" and first and second lieutenants as "Lieutenant (last name)".^[125]

US DoD Pay Grade	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	Special grade[126]
NATO Code	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
Insignia
Service Green Uniform Insignia
Title	Second lieutenant	First lieutenant	Captain	Major	Lieutenant colonel	Colonel	Brigadier general	Major general	Lieutenant general	General	General of the Army
Abbreviation	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	GA

Warrant officers

Warrant officers^[123] are single track, specialty officers with subject matter expertise in a particular area. They are initially appointed as warrant officers (in the rank of WO1) by the secretary of the Army, but receive their commission upon promotion to chief warrant officer two (CW2).

By regulation, warrant officers are addressed as "Mr. (last name)" or "Ms. (last name)" by senior officers and as "sir" or "ma'am" by all enlisted personnel.^[125] However, many personnel address warrant officers as "Chief (last name)" within their units regardless of rank.

US DoD Pay Grade	W-1	W-2	W-3	W-4	W-5
NATO Code	WO-1	WO-2	WO-3	WO-4	WO-5
Insignia
Title	Warrant officer 1	Chief warrant officer 2	Chief warrant officer 3	Chief warrant officer 4	Chief warrant officer 5
Abbreviation	WO1	CW2	CWO	CW4	CW5

Enlisted personnel

Sergeants and corporals are referred to as NCOs, short for non-commissioned officers.^[123][127] This distinguishes corporals from the more numerous specialists who have the same pay grade but do not exercise leadership responsibilities. Beginning in 2021, all corporals will be required to conduct structured self-development for the NCO ranks, completing the basic leader course (BLC), or else be laterally assigned as specialists. Specialists who have completed BLC and who have been recommended for promotion will be permitted to wear corporal rank before their recommended promotion as NCOs.^[128]

Privates and privates first class (E3) are addressed as "Private (last name)", specialists as "Specialist (last name)", corporals as "Corporal (last name)" and sergeants, staff sergeants, sergeants first class and master sergeants all as "Sergeant (last name)". First sergeants are addressed as "First Sergeant (last name)" and sergeants major and command sergeants major are addressed as "Sergeant Major (last name)".^[125]

U.S. DoD Pay grade	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4		E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8		E-9
NATO Code	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4		OR-5	OR-6	OR-7	OR-8		OR-9
Service Green Uniform Insignia	No insignia
Title	Private	Private [129]	Private first class	Specialist	Corporal	Sergeant	Staff sergeant	Sergeant first class	Master sergeant	First sergeant	Sergeant major	Command sergeant major	Sergeant major of the Army	Senior enlisted advisor to the chairman[130]
Abbreviation	PV1 ¹	PV2 ¹	PFC	SPC ²	CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG	1SG ³	SGM	CSM	SMA	SEAC
¹ PVT is also used as an abbreviation for both private ranks when pay grade need not be distinguished.[131] ² SP4 is sometimes encountered instead of SPC for specialist. This is a holdover from when there were additional specialist ranks at pay grades E-5 to E-7. ³ First sergeant is considered a temporary and lateral rank and is senior to master sergeant. A first sergeant can revert to master sergeant upon leaving assignment.

Training

U.S. Army Rangers practicing fast roping techniques from an MH-47 during an exercise at Fort Bragg

Training in the U.S. Army is generally divided into two categories – individual and collective. Because of COVID-19 precautions, the first two weeks of basic training — not including processing and out-processing – incorporate social distancing and indoor desk-oriented training. Once the recruits have tested negative for COVID-19 for two weeks, the remaining 8 weeks follow the traditional activities for most recruits,^[132] followed by Advanced Individualized Training (AIT) where they receive training for their military occupational specialties (MOS). Some individual's MOSs range anywhere from 14 to 20 weeks of One Station Unit Training (OSUT), which combines Basic Training and AIT. The length of AIT school varies by the MOS. The length of time spent in AIT depends on the MOS of the soldier. Certain highly technical MOS training requires many months (e.g., foreign language translators). Depending on the needs of the army, Basic Combat Training for combat arms soldiers is conducted at a number of locations, but two of the longest-running are the Armor School and the Infantry School, both at Fort Benning, Georgia. Sergeant Major of the Army Dailey notes that an infantrymen's pilot program for One Station Unit Training (OSUT) extends 8 weeks beyond Basic Training and AIT, to 22 weeks. The pilot, designed to boost infantry readiness ended in December 2018. The new Infantry OSUT covered the M240 machine gun as well as the M249 squad automatic weapon.^[133] The redesigned Infantry OSUT started in 2019.^[134][135] Depending on the result of the 2018 pilot, OSUTs could also extend training in other combat arms beyond the infantry.^[134] One Station Unit Training will be extended to 22 weeks for Armor by Fiscal Year 2021.^[21] Additional OSUTs are expanding to Cavalry, Engineer, and Military Police (MP) in the succeeding Fiscal Years.^[136]

A new training assignment for junior officers was instituted, that they serve as platoon leaders for Basic Combat Training (BCT) platoons.^[137] These lieutenants will assume many of the administrative, logistical, and day-to-day tasks formerly performed by the drill sergeants of those platoons and are expected to "lead, train, and assist with maintaining and enhancing the morale, welfare and readiness" of the drill sergeants and their BCT platoons.^[137] These lieutenants are also expected to stem any inappropriate behaviors they witness in their platoons, to free up the drill sergeants for training.^[137]

A trainer with Company A, 1st Battalion 502nd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Strike, 101st Airborne Division assisting Iraqi army ranger students during a room clearing drill at Camp Taji, Iraq on 18 July 2016

The United States Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) was introduced in 2018 to 60 battalions spread throughout the Army.^[138] The test and scoring system is the same for all soldiers, regardless of gender. It takes an hour to complete, including resting periods.^[139] The ACFT supersedes the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT),^{[140][141][142]} as being more relevant to survival in combat.^[138] Six events were determined to better predict which muscle groups of the body were adequately conditioned for combat actions:^[139] three deadlifts,^[143] a standing power throw of a ten-pound medicine ball,^[144] hand-release pushups^[145] (which replace the traditional pushup), a sprint/drag/carry 250 yard event,^[146] three pull-ups with leg tucks (or a plank test in lieu of the leg tuck),^[147][148] a mandatory rest period, and a two-mile run.^[149] As of 1 October 2020 all soldiers from all three components (Regular Army, Reserve, and National Guard)^[150] are subject to this test.^[151][152] The ACFT now tests all soldiers in basic training as of October 2020. The ACFT became the official test of record 1 October 2020; before that day every Army unit was required to complete a diagnostic ACFT^[153] (All Soldiers with valid APFT scores can use them until March 2022. The Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) System is one way that soldiers can prepare.).^{[154][155][156]} The ACFT movements directly translate to movements on the battlefield.^[135]

Following their basic and advanced training at the individual level, soldiers may choose to continue their training and apply for an "additional skill identifier" (ASI). The ASI allows the army to take a wide-ranging MOS and focus it on a more specific MOS. For example, a combat medic, whose duties are to provide pre-hospital emergency treatment, may receive ASI training to become a cardiovascular specialist, a dialysis specialist, or even a licensed practical nurse. For commissioned officers, training includes pre-commissioning training, known as Basic Officer Leader Course A, either at USMA or via ROTC, or by completing OCS. After commissioning, officers undergo branch-specific training at the Basic Officer Leaders Course B, (formerly called Officer Basic Course), which varies in time and location according to their future assignments. Officers will continue to attend standardized training at different stages of their careers.^[157]

U.S. Army soldiers familiarizing with the latest INSAS 1B1 during exercise Yudh Abhyas 2015

Collective training at the unit level takes place at the unit's assigned station, but the most intensive training at higher echelons is conducted at the three combat training centers (CTC); the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana and the Joint Multinational Training Center (JMRC) at the Hohenfels Training Area in Hohenfels and Grafenwöhr,^[158] Germany. ARFORGEN is the Army Force Generation process approved in 2006 to meet the need to continuously replenish forces for deployment, at unit level and for other echelons as required by the mission. Individual-level replenishment still requires training at a unit level, which is conducted at the continental U.S. (CONUS) replacement center (CRC) at Fort Bliss, in New Mexico and Texas before their individual deployment.^[159]

Chief of Staff Milley notes that the Army is suboptimized for training in cold-weather regions, jungles, mountains, or urban areas where in contrast the Army does well when training for deserts or rolling terrain.^{[160]: minute 1:26:00} Post 9/11, Army unit-level training was for counter-insurgency (COIN); by 2014–2017, training had shifted to decisive action training.^[161]

Equipment

The chief of staff of the Army has identified six modernization priorities, in order: artillery, ground vehicles, aircraft, network, air/missile defense, and soldier lethality.^[162]

Weapons

A Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system used for ballistic missile protection

Individual weapons

The United States Army employs various weapons to provide light firepower at short ranges. The most common weapon type used by the army is the M4 carbine, a compact variant of the M16 rifle,^[163] along with the 7.62×51mm variant of the FN SCAR for Army Rangers. The primary sidearm in the U.S. Army is the 9 mm M9 pistol; the M11 pistol is also used. Both handguns are to be replaced by the M17^[164] through the Modular Handgun System program.^[165] Soldiers are also equipped with various hand grenades, such as the M67 fragmentation grenade and M18 smoke grenade.

Many units are supplemented with a variety of specialized weapons, including the M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), to provide suppressive fire at the squad level.^[166] Indirect fire is provided by the M320 grenade launcher. The M1014 Joint Service Combat Shotgun or the Mossberg 590 Shotgun are used for door breaching and close-quarters combat. The M14EBR is used by designated marksmen. Snipers use the M107 Long Range Sniper Rifle, the M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle and the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle.

Crew-served weapons

The army employs various crew-served weapons to provide heavy firepower at ranges exceeding that of individual weapons.

The M240 is the U.S. Army's standard Medium Machine Gun.^[167] The M2 heavy machine gun is generally used as a vehicle-mounted machine gun. In the same way, the 40 mm MK 19 grenade machine gun is mainly used by motorized units.^[168]

The U.S. Army uses three types of mortar for indirect fire support when heavier artillery may not be appropriate or available. The smallest of these is the 60 mm M224, normally assigned at the infantry company level.^[169] At the next higher echelon, infantry battalions are typically supported by a section of 81 mm M252 mortars.^[170] The largest mortar in the army's inventory is the 120 mm M120/M121, usually employed by mechanized units.^[171]

Fire support for light infantry units is provided by towed howitzers, including the 105 mm M119A1^[172] and the 155 mm M777.^[173]

The U.S. Army utilizes a variety of direct-fire rockets and missiles to provide infantry with an Anti-Armor Capability. The AT4 is an unguided projectile that can destroy armor and bunkers at ranges up to 500 meters. The FIM-92 Stinger is a shoulder-launched, heat seeking anti-aircraft missile. The FGM-148 Javelin and BGM-71 TOW are anti-tank guided missiles.

Vehicles

A U.S. soldier on patrol in Iraq with the support of a Humvee vehicle

U.S. Army doctrine puts a premium on mechanized warfare. It fields the highest vehicle-to-soldier ratio in the world as of 2009.^[174] The army's most common vehicle is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), commonly called the Humvee, which is capable of serving as a cargo/troop carrier, weapons platform and ambulance, among many other roles.^[175] While they operate a wide variety of combat support vehicles, one of the most common types centers on the family of HEMTT vehicles. The M1A2 Abrams is the army's main battle tank,^[176] while the M2A3 Bradley is the standard infantry fighting vehicle.^[177] Other vehicles include the Stryker,^[178] the M113 armored personnel carrier^[179] and multiple types of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

3rd Infantry Division soldiers manning an M1A1 Abrams in Iraq

The U.S. Army's principal artillery weapons are the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer^[180] and the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS),^[181] both mounted on tracked platforms and assigned to heavy mechanized units.

Aviation

While the United States Army Aviation Branch operates a few fixed-wing aircraft, it mainly operates several types of rotary-wing aircraft. These include the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter,^[182] the UH-60 Black Hawk utility tactical transport helicopter^[183] and the CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopter.^[184] Restructuring plans call for reduction of 750 aircraft and from 7 to 4 types.^[185] The Army is evaluating two fixed-wing aircraft demonstrators; ARES, and Artemis are under evaluation to replace the Guardrail ISR (Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) aircraft.^[186] Under the Johnson-McConnell agreement of 1966, the Army agreed to limit its fixed-wing aviation role to administrative mission support (light unarmed aircraft which cannot operate from forward positions). For UAVs, the Army is deploying at least one company of drone MQ-1C Gray Eagles to each Active Army division.^[187]

Uniforms

The 2020 Army Greens uniform

The Army Combat Uniform (ACU) currently features a camouflage pattern known as Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP); OCP replaced a pixel-based pattern known as Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) in 2019.

(c) Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0

An element of the 18th Infantry Regiment, wearing ASUs, representing the United States at the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade.

On 11 November 2018, the Army announced a new version of 'Army Greens' based on uniforms worn during World War II that will become the standard garrison service uniform.^[188] The blue Army Service Uniform will remain as the dress uniform. The Army Greens are projected to be first fielded in the summer of 2020.^[188]

Berets

The Ranger Honor Platoon marching in their tan berets and former service uniform

The beret flash of enlisted personnel displays their distinctive unit insignia (shown above). The U.S. Army's black beret is no longer worn with the ACU for garrison duty, having been permanently replaced with the patrol cap. After years of complaints that it was not suited well for most work conditions, Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey eliminated it for wear with the ACU in June 2011. Soldiers who are currently in a unit in jump status still wear berets, whether the wearer is parachute-qualified or not (maroon beret), while members of Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) wear brown berets. Members of the 75th Ranger Regiment and the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade (tan beret) and Special Forces (rifle green beret) may wear it with the Army Service Uniform for non-ceremonial functions. Unit commanders may still direct the wear of patrol caps in these units in training environments or motor pools.

Tents

The Army has relied heavily on tents to provide the various facilities needed while on deployment (Force Provider Expeditionary (FPE)).^{[162]: p.146} The most common tent uses for the military are as temporary barracks (sleeping quarters), DFAC buildings (dining facilities),^[189] forward operating bases (FOBs), after-action review (AAR), tactical operations center (TOC), morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) facilities, as well as security checkpoints. Furthermore, most of these tents are set up and operated through the support of Natick Soldier Systems Center. Each FPE contains billeting, latrines, showers, laundry and kitchen facilities for 50–150 Soldiers,^{[162]: p.146} and is stored in Army Prepositioned Stocks 1, 2, 4 and 5. This provisioning allows combatant commanders to position soldiers as required in their Area of Responsibility, within 24 to 48 hours.

The U.S. Army is beginning to use a more modern tent called the deployable rapid assembly shelter (DRASH). In 2008, DRASH became part of the Army's Standard Integrated Command Post System.^[190]

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

• "Desert Storm/Shield Valorous Unit Award (VUA) Citations". US Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
• Bailey, Beth. America's Army: Making the All-Volunteer Force (2009)ISBN 0674035364
• Bluhm, Jr, Raymond K. (Editor-in-Chief); Andrade, Dale; Jacobs, Bruce; Langellier, John; Newell, Clayton R.; Seelinger, Matthew (2004). U.S. Army: A Complete History (Beaux Arts ed.). Arlington, VA: The Army Historical Foundation. p. 744. ISBN 978-0-88363-640-4. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
• Chambers, John Whiteclay, ed. The Oxford Guide to American Military History (1999) online at many libraries
• Clark, J. P. Preparing for War: The Emergence of the Modern U.S. Army, 1815–1917 (Harvard UP, 2017) 336 pp.
• Coffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I (1998), a standard history
• Kretchik, Walter E. U.S. Army Doctrine: From the American Revolution to the War on Terror (University Press of Kansas; 2011) 392 pages; studies military doctrine in four distinct eras: 1779–1904, 1905–1944, 1944–1962, and 1962 to the present.
• Woodward, David R. The American Army and the First World War (Cambridge University Press, 2014). 484 pp. online review

External links

• Media related to United States Army at Wikimedia Commons
• Works related to United States Army at Wikisource
• Learning materials related to United States Army at Wikiversity
• Official website
• Army.mil/photos – United States Army featured photos
• U.S. Army Collection – Missouri History Museum
• Finding Aids for researching the U.S. Army Archived 9 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine (compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History)
• US-militaria.com – The U.S. Army during the Second World War