Military of the United States
Encyclopedia : M : MI : MIL : Military of the United States
| United States Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Military manpower | |
| Military age | 17-45 years oldPersons of 17 years old, with parental permission, can join the U.S. armed services. |
| Availability | males & females ages 17-49: 134,813,023 (2005 est.). |
| Citizenship | Regular Army: No Citizenship Requirement. National Guard: Citizens Only. |
| Reaching military age annually | males & females: 4,180,074 (2005 est.) |
| Active troops | 1,427,000 (Ranked 2nd) |
| Military expenditures | |
| Dollar figure | $440 billion (FY2006 est.) |
| Percent of GDP | 3.7% (FY2005 est.) |
Approximately 1.4 million personnel are currently on active duty in the military with an additional 860,000 personnel in the seven reserve components (456,000 of which are in the Army and Air National Guard).Additionally, both the Coast Guard and the Air Force have volunteer civilian auxiliaries: the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (Coast Guard) and the Civil Air Patrol (Air Force). There is currently no conscription.
The armed forces are also members of the uniformed services of the United States.Since they are "constitutionally mandated services", the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps can be subsumed into the Department of Defense during declared emergencies and war time. The United States Military is considered the most powerful military in the world because their power projection capabilities are maintained significantly higher than any singular nation (e.g. France, United Kingdom, People's Republic of China, Russia, India). The United States Department of Defense is the controlling organization for the U.S. military and is headquartered at The Pentagon. The Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. military is the President of the United States. With a strength of 2.26 million personnel (including reserves), the United States armed forces are the 2nd largest in the world.The Posse Comitatus Act restricts the armed forces from interfering with civilian affairs, with the exception of the Coast Guard, when it is not subsumed into the Navy, and the National Guard, when it is in the service of the specific State or Territory that created it.
The United States military is a hierarchical military organization, with a system of military ranks to denote levels of authority within the organization. The military service is divided into a professional officer corps along with a greater number of enlisted personnel who perform day-to-day military operations. The United States officer corps is not restricted by social class or nobility. United States military officers are appointed from a variety of sources, including the service academies, ROTC, and direct appointment from both civilian status and the enlisted ranks.
The U.S. military also maintains a number of military awards and badges to denote the qualifications and accomplishments of military personnel.
On July 26, 1948 U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 which radically desegregated the military of the United States. Homosexuals, however, are still barred from serving openly (see Don't ask, don't tell.) By law, women may not be put into direct combat; however, asymmetrical warfare has put women into situations which are direct combat operations in all but name. (approximately 9% of Army positions available).
The United States military is unique in the amount of power it can project globally. Although the United Kingdom and France are capable of projecting power overseas, the United States military is the only military with the capacity to fight a major regional war away from its home territory. The U.S. is also one of the few nations in the world that have sizable nuclear arsenals and maintain active doctrines for plausible nuclear-attack operations.
Much of U.S. military capability is involved in logistics and transportation, which enable rapid buildup of forces as needed. The Air Force maintains a large fleet of C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster, and C-130 Hercules transportation aircraft. The Marine Corps maintains Marine Expeditionary Units at sea with the Navy's Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. The Navy's fleet of 12 active aircraft carriers, combined with a military doctrine of power projection, enables a flexible response to potential threats.
The United States Army is not as portable as the Marine Corps, but Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker has announced a reorganization of the Army's active-duty units into 48 brigade groups with an emphasis on power projection. There will be three classes of brigade group: light, medium, and heavy, with a different mix of armored and infantry units. In Army reorganization, however, battalions will still be affiliated with traditional regiments, and brigades will still be affiliated with traditional divisions. Reorganized brigades began operation in Iraq in the third quarter of 2005.
Under the President is the United States Secretary of Defense, a Cabinet Secretary responsible for the Department of Defense.
Both the President and Secretary are advised by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In accordance with the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 (which fundamentally changed the organization of the Department) the 4 Service Chiefs together with the Chairman and Vice Chairman form the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Chiefs serve only in an advisory and administrative capacity, with operational control flowing from the President and Secretary of Defense directly to the Commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands (see Goldwater-Nichols Act). Each service is responsible for providing military units to the commanders of the various Unified Commands.
| Command | Commander | Home Base | Area of Responsibility |
| United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM)
| Admiral Timothy J. Keating (USN)
| Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
| North American homeland defense and coordinating homeland security with civilian forces. |
| United States Central Command (CENTCOM),
| General John Abizaid (USA)
| Macdill Air Force Base, Florida
| The Horn of Africa through the Persian Gulf region, into Central Asia. |
| United States European Command (EUCOM)
| General James L. Jones (USMC) (also Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR))
| SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe), Belgium
| Europe and African and Middle Eastern nations not covered by CENTCOM. |
| U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM)
| Admiral William J. Fallon (USN)
| Honolulu, Hawaii
| The Asia-Pacific region including Hawaii. |
| U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
| General Bantz J. Craddock (USA)
| Miami, Florida
| South, Central America and the surrounding waters |
| The 5 Geographic Commands | |
|---|---|
 |
| U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
| General Bryan D. Brown (USA)
| MacDill Air Force Base, Florida
| Provides special operations for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. |
| U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM)
| General Lance L. Smith (USAF) (also Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT))
| Norfolk, Virginia
| Supports other commands as a joint force provider. |
| United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM)
| General James E. Cartwright (USMC)
| Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska
| Covers the strategic deterrent force and coordinates the use of space assets. |
| U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM)
| General Norton A. Schwartz (USAF)
| Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
| Covers global mobility of all military assets for all regional commands. |
Through their careers, officers usually will receive further training at one or a number of the many U.S. military staff colleges.
| Service | Total Active Duty Personnel | Percentage Female | Enlisted | Officers |
| Army | 500,203 | 15.2% | 414,325 | 69,307 |
| Marine Corps | 176,202 | 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 |
| 159,000 (December 2005)> | ||
| Germany | 75,603 | |
| South Korea (United States Forces Korea) | 27,000 | |
| Japan (United States Forces Japan) | 40,045 | |
| Italy | 13,354 | |
| United Kingdom | 11,801 | |
A total of 1,168,195 personnel are within the United States including:
| Continental U.S. | 1,168,195 |
| Hawaii | 35,810 |
| Alaska | 17,989 |
| Afloat | 120,666 |
The military expenditure of the Department of Defense for 2004 was:
| Total | 7.111 Billion |
| Operations and maintenance | 4.081 Bil. |
| Military Personnel | 3.576 Bil. |
| Procurement | .217 Bil. |
| Research & Development | .756 Bil. |
| Military Construction | .310 Bil. |
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 (although it is widely believed that China significantly understates its actual military expenditures). 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 two-thirds). 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.
However, in terms of per capita spending, the U.S. ranks third behind Israel and Singapore. It is also number 26 in terms of military spending per dollar GDP.
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 4% on military. This compares higher than France's 2.6%, and lower than Saudia Arabia's 10%. This is historically fairly low for the United States.
However it must be remembered that the figure presented for United States military spending has dramatically increased since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq due to the fact that the United States has taken a leading role therefore spending has dramatically increased. In peacetime this huge amount of Military spending will gradually fall back to pre 2003 levels which are still the highest amount in the world.
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United States Army | United States Navy | United States Air Force | United States Marine Corps | United States Coast Guard | |
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