Major branch of the U.S. military forces, charged with preserving peace and security and defending the nation. The first regular U.S. fighting force, the Continental Army, was organized by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, to supplement local militias in the American Revolution. It was placed under the control of a five-member civilian board, and U.S. military forces have remained in civilian control
ever since. The U.S. Constitution named the president as commander in chief, and in 1789 the civilian Department of War was established to administer the armed forces. The Continental Army was officially disbanded in 1783, and a small regular army was established. Thereafter, the army’s size increased during times of crisis, swelled by conscription, and decreased during peacetime. The Department of the Army is organized as a military section of the Department of Defense and is headed by the Secretary of the Army. The Army Staff gives advice and assistance to the secretary and administers civil functions, including the civil-works program of the Corps of Engineers. The army also administers the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In 2000 there were about 400,000 soldiers on active duty.
Army, United States, came into being on 14 June 1775 by an act of the Second Continental Congress. The new Continental army sustained the patriot cause in the American Revolution and established several important traditions, including subordination of the army to the civilian government, reliance on citizen-soldiers (militia, volunteers, draftees, and organized reserves) to bolster the regular army in wartime, and a quick return to a small core of professional soldiers during peacetime. The pattern of American war—a sudden and massive buildup of army manpower and material after years of neglect, quickly followed by an equally rapid and sweeping demobilization with the outbreak of peace—persisted for the next 175 years. Breaking with tradition, the U.S. Army after 1945 remained large and in a high state of readiness even in peacetime due to the Cold War. Even with the disintegration of the Communist bloc in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Army has remained the preeminent army in the world.
Dennis Sullivan
Corporal E-4
1956-1964
Larry Monk
Private E-3
1968-1971
Ken DiRoberto
Staff Sgt E-6
U.S. Air Force
Mission Statement
The mission of the United States Air Force is to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests — to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace.
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army or historically an army air corps, is in the broadest sense, the national military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. The term “air force” may also refer to a tactical air force or numbered air force, which is an operational formation within a national air force. Air forces typically consist of a combination of fighters, bombers, helicopters, transport planes and other aircraft. Many air forces are also responsible for operations of military space, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), and communications equipment. Some air forces may command and control other air-defense assets such as antiaircraft artillery, surface-to-air missiles, or anti-ballistic missile warning networks and defensive systems.
A common misconception people have of many air forces is that all military personnel within that branch only fly planes, which is obviously false. As on organization, the Air Forces have what one would call “ground support” to support the pilots and aircrew. Akin to any civilian organization, there are supporting employees who assist and/or support key employees. Pilots cannot exist on their own without the assistance of other key military personnel, such as civil engineers, loadmasters, fuels, and mechanics, etc.
On September 18, 1947. That is when the United States Air Force was founded.
Prior to that time it was a branch of the Army, first known as the Army Air Corps. The name became the Army Air Force (or Forces) during WWII.
