Difference between revisions of "United States Army"
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The Army was created by order of the [[Second Continental Congress]] on June 14, 1775. It is the oldest branch of the Armed Forces. | The Army was created by order of the [[Second Continental Congress]] on June 14, 1775. It is the oldest branch of the Armed Forces. | ||
| − | For the [ | + | For the [[War of 1812]] and the [[Mexican American War]], the army was augments by militia forces and volunteers. for the [[American Civil War]], the infantry was kept small in size and stationed on Indian control duties in the west. An entirely new temporary Volunteer Army was used to fight the war. |
Revision as of 19:08, October 16, 2009
The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. As of 2007, it consisted of 523,000 soldiers on active duty, 347,000 in the Army National Guard (ARNG) and 190,000 in the United States Army Reserve (USAR).
History
The Army was created by order of the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1775. It is the oldest branch of the Armed Forces.
For the War of 1812 and the Mexican American War, the army was augments by militia forces and volunteers. for the American Civil War, the infantry was kept small in size and stationed on Indian control duties in the west. An entirely new temporary Volunteer Army was used to fight the war.
On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981; it began the process of ending racial segregation in the armed forces and was finally in effect in the ealy 1950s.
Organization
The Army comprises two components, the Active Component and the Reserve Component. The Active Component is the Regular Army; soldiers serve full-time. The Reserve Component comprises the Army National Guard and the US Army Reserve. Soldiers in the Army National Guard are simultaneously members of their state forces (e.g. the Michigan Army National Guard) and the Army National Guard of the United States. Reserve Component soldiers may serve full-time, attend monthly assemblies and annual training exercises, or be inactive.
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| Pay grade | O-11 | O-10 | 0-9 | O-8 | O-7 | O-6 | O-5 | O-4 | O-3 | O-2 | O-1 |
| Insignia | 100px | 
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| Title | General of the Army | General | Lieutenant General | Major General | Brigadier General | Colonel | Lieutenant Colonel | Major | Captain | 1st Lieutenant | 2nd Lieutenant |
Public relations
Rod Powers wrote,
- On Oct. 17 2001, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki announced that the black beret would become standard Army headgear the following year. Shinseki said he wants to use the sense of pride that the beret has long represented to the Rangers to foster an attitude of excellence among the entire Army as it moves forward with its sweeping transformation effort to a lighter, more deployable, more agile force. His decision set off a firestorm in both the active-duty and veteran Ranger community as well as in the Army’s other two special operations camps, the Special Forces and the airborne. In 2002, the Army made the tan-color beret the official beret of the U.S. Army Rangers, and all Army soldiers began wearing the black beret. [1]
From 2003 onwards, a member of the US Army is officially called a "Soldier". This was the result of General Peter Schoomaker, then Army Chief of Staff, ordering all official Army publications to capitalize the word "Soldier."
- The change gives soldiers the respect and importance they've always deserved, especially now in their fight against global terrorism. [2]
Bibliography
- Bluhm, Raymond. U.S. Army: A Complete History, (2005) oversize, heavily illustrated excerpt and text search
- Brown, Jerold E., ed. Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Army (2001), 660pp online edition
- Dastrup, Boyd L. The Field Artillery: History and Sourcebook (1994) online edition
- Doughty, Robert. et al. American Military History And The Evolution of Western Warfare (1996), , standard texbook
- Hogan, David W. 225 Years of Service: The U.S. Army, 1775-2000 (2003)
- Macgregor, Douglas A. Transformation under Fire: Revolutionizing How America Fights, (2003) online edition
- Matloff, American Military History Volume I, standard textbook
- Matloff, American Military History Volume II, standard texbook
- Odom, William O. After the Trenches: The Transformation of U.S. Army Doctrine, 1918-1939, (1999) online edition
- Pogue, Forrest C. The Supreme Command (1996), WW2 Europe online edition
- Quimby, Robert S. The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study (1997) online edition
- Sarkesian, Sam C., and Robert E. Connor Jr., eds. America's Armed Forces: A Handbook of Current and Future Capabilities (1994) online edition
- Weigley Russell F. The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy. (1977).
