U.S. MILITARY

The United States military is ranked second largest in the world, and has troops deployed around the globe. As in most militaries, members of the U.S. armed forces hold a rank, either officer or enlisted, and can be promoted.

Personnel in each service

As of 2004

Service	Total Active Duty Personnel	Percentage Female	Enlisted	Officers
Army	500,203	15.2%	414,325	69,307
Marine Corps	180,000 [5]	6.0%	157,150	19,052
Navy	375,521	14.5%	319,929	55,592
Air Force	358,612	19.6%	285,520	73,091
Coast Guard	40,151	10.7%	31,286	7,835
Total	1,450,689	14.9%	1,196,210	254,479

Personnel deployed

Main article: Deployments of the U.S. Military

Overseas

The United States presently occupies 702 military bases in 132 different countries. Some of the largest contingents are:

Germany	69,395
South Korea (United States Forces Korea)	32,744
Japan (United States Forces Japan)	35,307
Italy	12,258
United Kingdom	11,093

As of mid- 2006, nearly 150,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed in the Middle East. Most of these forces are currently engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq.

Within the United States

Including U.S. territories and ships afloat within territorial waters

A total of 1,112,684 personnel are on active duty within the United States including:

Continental U.S.	900,088
Hawaii	33,343
Alaska	17,714
Afloat	109,119
Guam	3,784
Puerto Rico	1,552

^[6]

Types of Personnel

Enlisted

After enlistment new recruits undergo Basic Training, followed by Technical school in their primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) at any of the numerous MOS training facilities around the world. Initially, recruits without higher education or college degrees will hold the pay grade of E-1, and will be elevated to E-2 following Basic Training or soon thereafter. Different services have different incentive programs for enlistees, such as higher initial ranks for college credit and referring friends who go on to enlist as well. Enlistees in the Army can even attain the initial pay grade of E-4 with a full four year degree, but generally the highest initial grade is E-3.

Officer

There are four common ways for one to receive a commission as an officer in one of the branches of the U.S. military (although other routes are possible).

• Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
• Officer Candidate School (OCS)
• Military Academy
• Direct - Enlisted personnel that have skills that separate them from their peers can become officers if an overseeing general\commander sees such a promotion as fit. This type of commissioning is rarely done and is reserved only for the most exceptional enlisted personnel.

Officers receive a commission assigning them to the Officer Corps from the President (with the consent of the Senate).

Through their careers, officers usually will receive further training at one or a number of the many U.S. military staff colleges.

Warrant Officer

Additionally, all services except for the U.S. Air Force have a Warrant Officer corps. Above the rank of Warrant Officer One, these officers are also commissioned officers, but usually serve in a more technical and specialized role within units. More recently though they can also serve in more traditional leadership roles associated with the more recognizable officer corps. With one notable exception, these officers ordinarily have already been in the military often serving in senior NCO positions in the field in which they later serve as a Warrant Officer as a technical expert. The exception to the NCO rule is helicopter pilots in the U.S. Army; although most Army pilots have indeed served some enlisted time, it is also possible to enlist, complete basic training, go directly to the Warrant Officer Candidate school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and then on to flight school.

History^[7]

Main article: Military history of the United States

Prior and during the founding of the United States, and military forces required were supplied by untrained militia commanded by the states. When the Continental Congress first ordered a Contintental Army to be formed, it was to be made up of militia from the states. That army, under the command of General George Washington, won the Revolutionary War, but afterwards was disbanded.

However, it soon became obvious that a standing army and navy were required. The United States Navy began when Congress ordered several frigates in 1794, and a standing army was created, however it was still only minimal and it relied mostly on contributions from state militia in times of war.

Between the founding of the nation and the Civil War, American military forces fought and won against Barbary Coast pirates, fought the War of 1812 against the British, and ended in the status quo, and won several southwestern territories from the Mexicans in the Mexican-American war. In 1861, with the beginning of the Civil War, many military forces, including the nation's best generals, became part of the Confederate military, and both armies fought a long, bloody struggle which consumed 600,000 lives and ended in Union (US) victory in 1865.

In the period between the Civil War and the 1890s, the military was allowed to languish, although units of the US Army did fight Native Americans as settlers moved into the center of the United States. By the end of the century, though, America was rapidly becoming a new superpower. The military fought the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War, along with several Latin American interventions, and Teddy Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet around the world in a display of American power. In addition, the Militia Act of 1903 established the National Guard.

The United States entered World War I in 1917 and was instrumental in Allied victory. It languished in the interwar period, but as tensions mounted leading up to World War II, the force was put back into shape. US Army troops were a large component of the forces that took North Africa, Italy, and landed in France at D-Day, and US Navy, Marine, and Army troops almost singlehandedly retook the Pacific from Japan.

The end of World War II was the start of the Cold War, a large but ultimately non violent struggle between the United States and its NATO Allies and the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. Thousands of US troops deployed to Europe in anticipation of a struggle that never came.

However, US troops did participate in proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam. The Korean War, between North Korea and China and South Korea, the US, and other UN troops, ultimately returned to the status quo. The Vietnam War between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and the US, was ultimately a failure, resulting in US pullout and unification of the the country under communism.

In the 1980s, the US military fought Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. In addition, the Goldwater-Nichols Act completely reorganized the military. By 1989 it was clear the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse and it looked like the US military would be left with no one to fight. However, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, the United States entered the Persian Gulf War. The military forces of the US and other nations easily defeated Iraq's army with minimal losses, proving the combat readiness of the new all-volunteer military. After this brief war and the breakup of the Soviet Union, the US military had relatively little to do throughout the remainder of the 1990s, barring interventions in Yugoslavia and Kosovo.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, US military forces were an integral part of the War on Terror. US and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, and in 2003 the US and several other countries invaded Iraq. While the initial invasion was successful, the occupation quickly bogged down, with daily violence and terrorist attacks. However, some milestones have been reached, such as the capture of Saddam Hussein and democratic elections.

Expenditures

Main article: U.S. military budget

The military expenditure of the United States Department of Defense for fiscal year 2006 is:

Total Funding	$441.6 Billion
Operations and maintenance	$124.3 Bil.
Military Personnel	$108.8 Bil.
Procurement	$79.1 Bil.
Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation	$69.5 Bil.
Military Construction	$12.2 Bil.
Department of Energy Defense Activities	$17.0 Bil.

^[8]

The United States military budget is larger than the military budgets of the next twenty largest spenders combined, and six times larger than China's, which places second. The United States and its closest allies are responsible for approximately two-thirds of global military spending (of which, in turn, the U.S. is responsible for the vast majority). Military spending accounts for more than half of the United States' federal discretionary spending, which comprises all of the U.S. government's money not accounted for by pre-existing obligations. ^[9]

However, in terms of per capita spending, the U.S. ranks third behind Israel and Singapore^[10], because these two countries are so diminutive. It is also number 26 in terms of military spending per dollar GDP. ^[11]

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2003 the United States spent approximately 47% of the world's total military spending of US $956,000,000,000.

As a percentage of its GDP, the United states spends 3.7% on military. This compares higher than France's 2.6%, and lower than Saudia Arabia's 10%^[12], although it should be noted that the U.S. GDP is vastly larger than France or Saudi Arabia's. This is historically fairly low for the United States. ^[13]

However it must be remembered that the figure presented for United States Military spending has dramatically increased since the attacks of September 11th, 2001 and ensuing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In peace time U.S. military spending will gradually decrease.

Notes and sources

See also

• Military history of the United States
  • List of military actions by or within the United States
  • United States military historical joint commands
• United States military academies
• United States military staff colleges
• Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance
• List of United States military books
• Full-spectrum dominance
• List of United States military history events

External links

• United States Order of Battle
• Kamouflage.net > U.S. Military camouflage patterns
• Global Security on U.S. Military Operations
• Today's Military website
• US Military ranks and rank insignia
• US Military Mottos

Military of the United States
US Army | US Navy | US Air Force | US Marine Corps | US Coast Guard