In the United States Armed Forces, Military Intelligence (sometimes referred to as MI) refers specifically to the intelligence components of the United States Army. Other branches of the service have their own military intelligence components, referred to by other names.

Mission[link]

The primary mission of military intelligence in the United States Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic warfare support to tactical, operational and strategic-level commanders. The Army’s intelligence components produce intelligence both for Army use and for sharing across the national intelligence community.^[1]

Structure[link]

Approximately 28,000 military personnel and 3,800 civilian personnel are assigned to intelligence duties, comprising the Military Intelligence Corps. Some of the key components include:

• Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence (G2). As the Army's Chief Intelligence Officer, the responsibilities of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence include policy formulation, planning, programming, budgeting, management, staff supervision, evaluation, and oversight for intelligence activities, as well as overall coordination of the major intelligence disciplines.
• United States Army Intelligence and Security Command, located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is the Army's major intelligence command.
• United States Army Intelligence Center, located at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. It is the Army's school for professional training of military intelligence personnel.

History[link]

Intelligence personnel were a part of the Continental Army from its founding in 1775.

In January 1863, Major General Joseph Hooker established the Bureau of Military Information for the Union Army during the Civil War, headed by George H. Sharpe. Allan Pinkerton and Lafayette C. Baker handled similar operations for their respective regional commanders. All of those operations were shut down at the end of the Civil War in 1865.^[2]

In 1885, the Army established the Military Intelligence Division (MID). In 1903, the MID was placed under the new general staff in an elevated position.^[3]

In March 1942, the Military Intelligence Division was reorganized as the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). Originally consisting of just 26 people, 16 of them officers, it was quickly expanded to include 342 officers and 1,000 enlisted personnel and civilians. It was tasked with collecting, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence. Initially it included:

• an Administrative Group
• an Intelligence Group
• a Counter-intelligence Group
• an Operations Group

In May 1942, Alfred McCormack established the Special Branch of MIS, which specialized in COMINT.

In 1945, the Special Branch became the Army Security Agency. In 1946, the Counter-Intelligence Group became the US Army Counter Intelligence Corps.

It was in July 1967, that a number of intelligence and security organizations were combined to form the military intelligence branch.^{[4][5] [6]} In 1977 they eventually recombined with the Army Intelligence Agency and Army Security Agency to become the US Army Intelligence and Security Command.

Military Intelligence Corps[link]

Military Intelligence Corps Distinctive Insignia

The Military Intelligence Corps is one of the basic branches of the United States Army.^[7] In 1971, the United States Army Intelligence Center was established at Fort Huachuca, Arizona as the home of the military intelligence branch. On 1 July 1987 the Military Intelligence Corps was activated as a regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System.^[8] All United States Army Military Intelligence personnel are members of the Military Intelligence Corps.

Units[link]

Battlefield Surveillance Brigades[link]

Battlefield Surveillance Brigades (BfSB) are meant to improve the situational awareness about the battlefield for commanders at division level or higher, so they can adapt their units combat power for the current operations. For this the Battlefield Surveillance Brigades can deploy unmanned aerial vehicles, signals gathering equipment, human intelligence collectors and long range surveillance patrols.^[9]

There are currently three active Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, each supporting one of the three Corps of the US Army: the 201st BfSB at Fort Lewis, the 504th BfSB at Fort Hood and the 525th BfSB at Fort Bragg. A fourth brigade is scheduled to activate at Fort Polk in 2013 but is not yet named. The Army National Guard has additional seven BfSB's.

Each BfSB consists of a headquarters and headquarters company, two military intelligence battalions, a reconnaissance squadron with a long range surveillance troop, a signals company and a support company.

Battlefield Surveillance Brigades

Name	Insignia	Subordinate to	Garrison
201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade	100px	I Corps	Fort Lewis
504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade		III Corps	Fort Hood
525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade		XVIII Corps	Fort Bragg

Military Intelligence Brigades[link]

Military Intelligence Brigades

Name	Insignia	Supports	Garrison
66th Military Intelligence Brigade		United States Army Europe	Wiesbaden Army Airfield, (Germany)
111th Military Intelligence Brigade 304th MI Battalion 344th MI Battalion 309th MI Battalion 305th MI Battalion		United States Army Intelligence Center, (TRADOC)	Fort Huachuca
470th Military Intelligence Brigade 204th MI Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) 314th MI Battalion 377th MI Battalion (Communications and Electronic) 201st MI Battalion (Interrogation) 401st MI Battalion		United States Army South	Fort Sam Houston
500th Military Intelligence Brigade		United States Army Pacific	Schofield Barracks
501st Military Intelligence Brigade 3d MI Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) 524th MI Battalion (CI) 532d MI Battalion (OPNS) 719th MI Battalion 368 MI Battalion (TSB)		US Forces Korea (USFK) and Eighth United States Army	Yongsan Garrison, (South Korea)
513th Military Intelligence Brigade 202nd MI Battalion 224th MI Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) 297th MI Battalion 345th MI Battalion (Army Reserve)	100px	United States Army Intelligence and Security Command	Fort Gordon
704th Military Intelligence Brigade		United States Army Intelligence and Security Command	Fort George G. Meade
780th Military Intelligence Brigade 781st MI Battalion 782nd MI Battalion		United States Army Intelligence and Security Command	Fort George G. Meade

Creed of the Military Intelligence Corps[link]

I am a Soldier first, but an intelligence professional second to none.
With pride in my heritage, but focused on the future,
Performing the first task of an Army:
To find, know, and never lose the enemy.
With a sense of urgency and of tenacity, professional and physical fitness,
and above all, INTEGRITY, for in truth lies victory.
Always at silent war, while ready for a shooting war,
The silent warrior of the ARMY team.^{[citation needed]}

Museum[link]

The United States Army Intelligence Museum is located at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. It features the history of American military intelligence from the Revolutionary War to present.

Military Intelligence Hall of Fame[link]

See also[link]

• List of United States Army careers#Military Intelligence Branch (MI)
• Combat Support
• United States Army Counterintelligence
• Company Level Intelligence Cell

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• McChristian, General Joseph A. (1994 (reprint of 1974) id = CMH Pub 90-19). Vietnam Studies. United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/mi/index.htm. 
• Ruiz, Victor H., 2010. "A Knowledge Taxonomy for Army Intelligence Training: An Assessment of the Military Intelligence Basic Officer Leaders Course Using Lundvall’s Knowledge Taxonomy" . Applied Research Projects. Texas State University Paper 331. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/331

External links[link]

• University of Military Intelligence

Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions. This is achieved by providing an assessment of available data from a wide range of sources, directed towards the commanders' mission requirements or responding to focused questions as part of the operational or campaign planning activity. In order to provide an informed analysis, the commander's information requirements are first identified. These information requirements are then incorporated into a process of intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination.

Areas of study may include the operational environment, hostile, friendly and neutral forces, the civilian population in an area of combat operations, and other, broader areas of interest ^[1]. Intelligence activities are conducted at all levels, from tactical to strategic, in peacetime, the period of transition to war, and during a war itself.

Most governments maintain a military intelligence capability to provide analytical and information collection personnel in both specialist units and from other arms and services. The military intelligence capabilities will interact with civilian intelligence capabilities to inform the spectrum of political and military activities.

Personnel selected for intelligence duties may be selected for their analytical abilities and personal intelligence before receiving formal training.

Levels of intelligence[link]

Military intelligence diagram of defense positions during the Battle of Okinawa, 1945.

Intelligence operations are carried out throughout the hierarchy of political and military activity.

Strategic intelligence[link]

Strategic intelligence is concerned with broad issues such as economics, political assessments, military capabilities and intentions of foreign nations (and, increasingly, non-state actors). Such intelligence may be scientific, technical, tactical, diplomatic, or sociological but these changes are analyzed in combination with known facts about the area in question, such as geography, demographics, and industrial capacities.

Operational intelligence[link]

Operational intelligence is focused on support to an expeditionary force commander and will be attached to the formation headquarters.

Tactical intelligence[link]

Tactical intelligence is focused on support to operations at the tactical level, and would be attached to the battlegroup. At the tactical level briefings are delivered to patrols on current threats and collection priorities, these patrols are then debriefed to elicit information for analysis and communication through the reporting chain.

Intelligence tasking[link]

Intelligence should respond to the needs of the commander, based on the military objective and the outline plans for the operation. The military objective provides a focus for the estimate process, from which a number of information requirements are derived, information requirements may be related to terrain and impact on vehicle or personnel movement, disposition of hostile forces, sentiments of the local population and capabilities of the hostile order of battle.

In response to the information requirements the analysis staff will trawl existing information identifying gaps in the available knowledge. Where gaps in knowledge exist the staff may be able to task collection assets to collect against the requirement.

Analysis reports draw on all available sources of information, whether drawn from existing material or collected in response to the requirement. The analysis reports are used to inform the remaining planning staff, influencing planning and seeking to predict adversary intent.

This process is described as Collection Co-ordination and Intelligence Requirement Management (CCIRM).

The intelligence process[link]

The process of intelligence has four phases: collection, analysis, processing and dissemination.

In the United Kingdom these are known as:

• Direction
• Collection
• Processing
• Dissemination.

Collection[link]

Center for the Study of Intelligence (CSI) Timeline CIA Factbook on Intelligence^[2] key:
1. German Enigma Enciphering Machine WWII
2. Special Forces' Wings WWII
3. Virginia Hall's Distinguished Service Cross WWII (Courtesy of Lorna Catling)
4. OSS/Early CIA Time Stamp, ca.1945
5. On the Front Lines of the Cold War: Documents on the Intelligence War in Berlin, 1946 to 1961
6. The CIA Under Truman
7. Venona: Soviet Espionage and the American Response, 1939-1959
8. Selected Estimates on the Soviet Union 1950-1959
9. Sign, North Building, Original CIA Headquarters, 2430 E Street, Washington, D.C. ca. 1950
10. Corona: America's First Satellite Program 1960
11. Air America Cap, ca. 1960
12. Pneumatic Tube System, Original Headquarters Building ca. 1963
13. The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974
14. Winter Hat, Soviet Military ca. 1980
15. Minox ‘Model B' Camera 1948-1972
16. Soviet Infrared Night Vision Device, ca. 1970s
17. Intentions and Capabilities: Estimates on Soviet Strategic Forces, 1950-1983
18. At Cold War's End: US Intelligence on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1989-1991
19. Canteen, Iraqi Military ca. 1991
20. Helmet, Iraqi Military ca. 1991
21. Caltrop (tire spike) 1991
22. The Day the Wall Came Down, ©1991 by Veryl Goodnight, Berlin, Germany
23. Studies in Intelligence
24. Psychology of Intelligence Analysis by Richards J. Heuer, Jr. 1999
25. In June 2002, the CIA commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Office of Strategic Services with a special publication of Studies in Intelligence and a new legacy exhibit on the OSS in the CIA Museum.

Many of the most important facts are well known, or may be gathered from public sources. This form of information collection is known as open source intelligence. For example, the population, ethnic make-up and main industries of a region are extremely important to military commanders, and this information is usually public. It is however imperative that the collector of information understands that what he collected is "Information", and does not become intelligence until after an analyst has evaluated and verified this information. Collection of read materials, composition of units or elements, dipostion of the same, strength, training, tactics, personalities (leaders) of these units and elements contribute to the overall intelligence value after careful analysis.

The tonnage and basic weaponry of most capital ships and aircraft are also public, and their speeds and ranges can often be reasonably estimated by experts, often just from photographs. Ordinary facts like the lunar phase on particular days, or the ballistic range of common military weapons are also very valuable to planning, and are habitually collected in an intelligence library.

A great deal of useful intelligence can be gathered from photointerpretation of detailed high-altitude pictures of a country. Photointerpreters generally maintain catalogs of munitions factories, military bases and crate designs, in order to interpret munition shipments and inventories.

Most intelligence services maintain or support groups whose only purpose is to keep maps. Since maps also have valuable civilian uses, these agencies are often publicly associated or identified as other parts of the government. Some historic counter-intelligence services, especially in Russia and China, have intentionally banned or placed disinformation in public maps; good intelligence can identify this disinformation.

It is commonplace for the intelligence services of large countries to read every published journal of the nations in which it is interested, and the main newspapers and journals of every nation. This is a basic source of intelligence.

It is also common for diplomatic and journalistic personnel to have a secondary goal of collecting military intelligence. For western democracies, it is extremely rare for journalists to be paid by an official intelligence service, but they may still patriotically pass on tidbits of information they gather as they carry on their legitimate business. Also, much public information in a nation may be unavailable from outside the country. This is why most intelligence services attach members to foreign service offices.

Some industrialized nations also eavesdrop continuously on the entire radio spectrum, interpreting it in real time. This includes not only broadcasts of national and local radio and television, but also local military traffic, radar emissions, and even microwaved telephone and telegraph traffic, including satellite traffic.

The U.S. in particular is known to maintain satellites able to intercept cell-phone and pager traffic, usually referred to as the ECHELON system. Analysis of bulk traffic is normally performed by complex computer programs that parse natural language and phone numbers looking for threatening conversations and correspondents. In some extraordinary cases, undersea or land-based cables have been tapped, as well.

More exotic secret information, such as encryption keys, diplomatic message traffic, policy and orders of battle are usually restricted to analysts on a need-to-know basis, in order to protect the sources and methods from foreign traffic analysis.

Analysis[link]

Analysis consists of assessment of an adversary's capabilities and vulnerabilities. In a real sense these are threats and opportunities. Analysts generally look for the least defended or most fragile resource that is necessary for important military capabilities. These are then flagged as critical vulnerabilities. For example, in modern mechanized warfare, the logistic train for a military unit's fuel supply is often the most vulnerable part of a nation's order of battle.

Human intelligence, gathered by spies, is usually carefully tested against unrelated sources. It is notoriously prone to inaccuracy: In some cases, sources will just make up imaginative stories for pay, or they may try to settle grudges by identifying personal enemies as enemies of the state that is paying for the intelligence. However, human intelligence is often the only form that provides information about an opponent's intentions and rationales, and it is therefore often uniquely valuable to successful negotiation of diplomatic solutions.

In some intelligence organizations, analysis follows a procedure, screening general media and sources to locate items or groups of interest, and then systematically assessing their location, capabilities, inputs and environment for vulnerabilities, using a continuously-updated list of typical vulnerabilities.

Packaging[link]

Critical vulnerabilities are then indexed in a way that makes them easily available to advisors and line intelligence personnel who package this information for policy-makers and war-fighters. Vulnerabilities are usually indexed by the nation and military unit, with a list of possible attack methods.

Critical threats are usually maintained in a prioritized file, with important enemy capabilities analyzed on a schedule set by an estimate of the enemy's preparation time. For example, nuclear threats between the USSR and the U.S. were analyzed in real time by continuously on-duty staffs. In contrast, analysis of tank or army deployments are usually triggered by accumulations of fuel and munitions, which are monitored on slower, every-few-days cycles. In some cases, automated analysis is performed in real time on automated data traffic.

Packaging threats and vulnerabilities for decision makers is a crucial part of military intelligence. A good intelligence officer will stay very close to the policy-maker or war fighter, to anticipate their information requirements, and tailor the information needed. A good intelligence officer will ask a fairly large number of questions in order to help anticipate needs, perhaps even to the point of annoying the principal. For an important policy-maker, the intelligence officer will have a staff to which research projects can be assigned.

Developing a plan of attack is not the responsibility of intelligence, though it helps an analyst to know the capabilities of common types of military units. Generally, policy-makers are presented with a list of threats, and opportunities. They approve some basic action, and then professional military personnel plan the detailed act and carry it out. Once hostilities begin, target selection often moves into the upper end of the military chain of command. Once ready stocks of weapons and fuel are depleted, logistic concerns are often exported to civilian policy-makers.

Dissemination[link]

The processed intelligence information is disseminated through database systems, intel bulletins and briefings to the different decision makers. The bulletins could also include consequently resulting information requirements and thus conclude the intelligence cycle.

It can also be leaked for political purposes by the Executive Branch or by whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg. ^[3][4]

See also[link]

National:

• DIO (Australian Defence Intelligence Organisation)
• GRU (Russian Military Intelligence)
• Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence (Pakistan)
• MAD (German Military Intelligence)

US specific:

• Defense Intelligence Agency
• Defense Language Institute
• Document Exploitation (DOCEX)
• United States Army Intelligence Center
• World Basic Information Library (WBIL)

External links[link]

• Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• Intelligence Resource Program of the Federation of American Scientists Reference

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009)

• N.J.E. Austin and N.B. Rankov, Exploratio: Military and Political Intelligence in the Roman World From the Second Punic War to the Battle of Adrianople. London: Routledge, 1995.
• Julius Caesar, The Civil War. Translated by Jane F. Mitchell. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
• Cassius Dio, Dio's Roman History. Translated by Earnest Cary. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1916.
• Francis Dvornik, Origins of Intelligence Services. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1974.
• J.F.C. Fuller, A Military History of the Western World, Vol. 1: From the Earliest Times to the Battle of Lepanto. New York: Da Capo Press, 1987.
• Richard A. Gabriel and Karen S. Metz, From Summer to Rome; The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
• John Keegan, Intelligence in War. New York: Knopf, 2003.
• Charles H. Harris & Louis R. Sadler. The Border and the Revolution: Clandestine Activities of the Mexican Revolution 1910-1920. HighLonesome Books, 1988.
• Ishmael Jones, The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture, New York: Encounter Books, 2010 (ISBN 978-1594032233).
• Henry Landau, The Enemy Within: The Inside Story of German Sabotage in America. G.P. Putnam Sons, 1937.
• Sidney F. Mashbir. I Was An American Spy. Vantage, 1953.
• Nathan Miller. Spying for America: The Hidden History of U.S. Intelligence. Dell Publishing, 1989.
• Ian Sayer & Douglas Botting. America's Secret Army, The Untold Story of the Counter Intelligence Corps. Franklin Watts Publishers, 1989.
• Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmerman Telegram. Ballantine Books, 1958.
• "Coast Guard Intelligence Looking For a Few Good Men and Women." Commandant's Bulletin (Jun 10 1983), p. 34.
• "Coast Guard Investigative Service." Coast Guard (Dec 1996), pp. 24–25.
• The Coast Guard at War: Volume XII: Intelligence. Washington, DC: Historical Section, Public Information Division, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, January 1, 1949.
• Hinsley, Francis F. "British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations". Cambridge University Press, 1990.
• Ruiz, Victor H., 2010. "A Knowledge Taxonomy for Army Intelligence Training: An Assessment of the Military Intelligence Basic Officer Leaders Course Using Lundvall’s Knowledge Taxonomy". Applied Research Projects. Texas State University Paper 331. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/331

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United States Armed Forces
United States Joint Service Color Guard on parade at Fort Myer, Virginia.
Service branches	U.S. Army U.S. Marine Corps U.S. Navy U.S. Air Force U.S. Coast Guard
Headquarters	Washington, D.C and Arlington, Virginia
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Barack Obama
Secretary of Defense	Leon Panetta
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff	General Martin Dempsey
Manpower
Military age	17–62 years old[1]
Available for military service	73,270,043 males, age 18–49 (2010 est.), 71,941,969 females, age 18–49 (2010 est.)
Fit for military service	60,620,143 males, age 18–49 (2010 est.), 59,401,941 females, age 18–49 (2010 est.)
Reaching military age annually	2,161,727 males (2010 est.), 2,055,685 females (2010 est.)
Active personnel	1,456,862[2] (ranked 2nd)
Reserve personnel	1,458,500[3] (ranked 7th)
Expenditures
Budget	$549.1 billion (FY11)[4] (1st by total expenditure, 11th as percent of GDP)
Percent of GDP	4.9% (2011 est.)
Related articles
History	American Revolutionary War Early national period Continental expansion American Civil War (1861–1865) Post-Civil War era World War I (1917–1918) World War II (1941–1945) Cold War (1945–1991) Korean War (1950–1953) Vietnam War (1959–1975) Gulf War (1991) Kosovo War (1999) War on Terrorism (2001–present) War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Iraq War (2003–2011) Other
Ranks	Army officer Army warrant officer Army enlisted Marine Corps officer Marine Corps warrant officer Marine Corps enlisted Navy officer Navy warrant officer Navy enlisted Air Force officer Air Force enlisted Coast Guard officer Coast Guard warrant officer Coast Guard enlisted

The United States Armed Forces^[5] are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.^[6] The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military. The President is the overall head of the military, and helps form military policy with the United States Department of Defense (DoD), a federal executive department, acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out. The DoD is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and Cabinet member. The Secretary of Defense is second in the military's chain of command, just below the President, and serves as the principal assistant to the President in all matters related to the Department of Defense.^[7] To coordinate military action with diplomacy, the President has an advisory National Security Council headed by a National Security Advisor. Both the President and Secretary of Defense are advised by a seven-member Joint Chiefs of Staff, which includes the head of each of Department of Defense service branches as well as the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Leadership is provided by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[8] The Commandant of the Coast Guard is not a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

All of the branches work together during operations and joint missions, under the Unified Combatant Commands, under the authority of the Secretary of Defense with the exception of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard falls under the administration of the Department of Homeland Security and receives its operational orders from the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Coast Guard may be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President or Congress during a time of war.^[9] All five armed services are among the seven uniformed services of the United States; the others are the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps.

From the time of its inception the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of national unity and identity was forged out of the victorious Barbary Wars, as well as the War of 1812. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and not until the outbreak of World War II did a large standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the onset of the Cold War, created the modern U.S. military framework; the Act merged previously Cabinet-level Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (renamed the Department of Defense in 1949), headed by the Secretary of Defense; and created the Department of the Air Force and National Security Council.

The U.S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its manpower from a large pool of paid volunteers; although conscription has been used in the past in various times of both war and peace, it has not been used since 1972. As of 2011, the United States spends about $550 billion annually to fund its military forces,^[4] and appropriates approximately $160 billion to fund Overseas Contingency Operations. Put together, the United States constitutes roughly 43 percent of the world's military expenditures. The U.S. armed forces as a whole possess large quantities of advanced and powerful equipment, along with widespread placement of forces around the world, giving them significant capabilities in both defense and power projection.

History[link]

The history of the United States Armed Forces dates to 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence marked the establishment of the United States. The Continental Army, Continental Navy, and Continental Marines were created in close succession by the Second Continental Congress in order to defend the new nation against the British Empire in the American Revolutionary War.

These forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. The Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784, although the founding of the Army is celebrated as occurring on 14 June 1775. The 1787 adoption of the Constitution gave the Congress the power to "raise and support armies," "provide and maintain a navy," and to "make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces," as well as the power to declare war and gave the President of the United States the responsibility of being the military's commander-in-chief.

Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the United States Navy (established 13 October 1775) and the United States Marine Corps (established 10 November 1775). The United States Coast Guard dates its origin to the founding of the Revenue Cutter Service on 4 August 1790; that service merged with the United States Life-Saving Service in 1915 to establish the Coast Guard. The United States Air Force was established as an independent service on 18 September 1947; it traces its origin to the formation of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps in 1907 and was part of the U.S. Army before becoming an independent service.

The reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war.^[10][11][12] Time Magazine writer Mark Thompson has suggested that with the Global War on Terrorism, the reserves deployed as a single force with the active branches and America no longer has a strategic reserve.^[13][14][15]

Budget[link]

U.S. military spending from 1910 to 2007, adjusted for inflation to 2003 dollars. The large spike represents World War II spending.

US defense spending by GDP percentage 1910 to 2007.

The United States has the largest defense budget in the world. In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Defense has a base budget of $533.8 billion. An additional $130.0 billion was requested for "Overseas Contingency Operations" in the War on Terrorism, and over the course of the year, an additional $33 billion in supplemental spending was added to Overseas Contingency Operations funding.^[4][16][17] Outside of direct Department of Defense spending, the United States spends another $218–262 billion each year on other defense-related programs, such as Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, nuclear weapons maintenance, and the State Department.

By service, $225.2 billion was allocated for the Army, $171.7 billion for the Navy and Marine Corps, $160.5 billion for the Air Force and $106.4 billion for defense-wide spending.^[18] By function, $154.2 billion was requested for personnel, $283.3 billion for operations and maintenance, $140.1 billion for procurement, $79.1 billion for research and development, $23.9 billion for military construction, and $3.1 billion for family housing.^[19]

In fiscal year 2009, major defense programs also saw continued funding. $4.1 billion was requested for the next generation fighter, F-22 Raptor, which will roll out an additional twenty planes for FY 2009. $6.7 billion was requested for the F-35 Lightning II, which is still in development. Sixteen planes will be built as part of the funding. The Future Combat System program is expected to see $3.6 billion for its development. A total of $12.3 billion was requested for missile defense, which includes Patriot CAP, PAC-3 and SBIRS-High systems. $720 million was also included for a third missile defense site in Europe. $4.2 billion was also requested to continue the aircraft carrier replacement program. With the addition of AFRICOM, $389 million was requested to develop and maintain the new command.^[20]

Historically, defense-related spending in the United States is at its highest inflation-adjusted level since World War II. Per-capita spending is at approximately the same inflation-adjusted level as the peak of the late-1980s Cold War military build-up and the 1968 peak of the Vietnam War. In his Fiscal Year 2011 budget, President Obama has proposed a 4% increase in Department of Defense spending, followed by a 9% decrease in FY 2012, with funding remaining level in subsequent years.^[4]

Loren Thompson has blamed the "vast sums of money" squandered on cutting-edge technology projects that were then canceled on short sighted political operatives who lack a long term perspective in setting requirements. The result is that the number of items bought under a given program are cut. The total development costs of the program are divided over fewer platforms, making the per-unit cost seem higher and so the numbers are cut again and again in a death spiral.^[21]

Critical parts of the Obama future years plan are the cost containment measures provided by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Energy policy of the Obama administration as health care and fuel costs are the two fastest growing parts of the defense budget.^[22][23]

Personnel[link]

Active duty U.S. military personnel from 1950 to 2003. The two peaks correspond to the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

As of 30 September 2010, 1,430,895 people were on active duty^[24] in the military, with an additional 848,000 people in the seven reserve components.^[3] It is an all-volunteer military, but conscription through the Selective Service System can be enacted by the request of the President and the approval of Congress. All males aged 18 through 25 who are living in the U.S. are required to register with the Selective Service for a potential future draft.

The United States military is the second largest in the world, after the People's Liberation Army of China, and has troops deployed around the globe.

In early 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates proposed to the President to increase the overall size of the Army and Marine Corps to meet the needs of the War on Terrorism.^[25] Current plans are to increase the Army to 547,400 and the Marine Corps to 202,000 by 2012. The expansion will cost a total of $90.7 billion between 2009 and 2013 as the Navy and Air Force undergo a limited force reduction.^[26] In addition, in 2009, Gates proposed increasing the size of the Army by 22,000 troops in order to reduce fatigue from multiple trips overseas, and to compensate for troops who are in recovery away from their units.^{[citation needed]} The Fiscal Year 2011 Department of Defense budget request^[27] plan calls for an active military end strength of 1,406,000, an increase of 77,500 from the 2007 baseline as a result of increments in the Army (65,000 more troops) and Marine Corps (27,100 more troops) strength and decrements in the Navy (13,300 less troops) and Air Force (1,300 less troops) strength.

As in most militaries, members of the U.S. Armed Forces hold a rank, either that of officer, warrant, or enlisted, to determine seniority and eligibility for promotion. Those who have served are known as veterans. Rank names may be different between services, but they are matched to each other by their corresponding paygrade.^[28] Officers who hold the same rank or paygrade are distinguished by their date of rank to determine seniority.^[29] Officers who serve in certain positions of office of importance set by law, outrank all other officers in active duty of the same rank and paygrade, regardless of their date of rank.^[29]

The failure of the educational systems in the United States may force the armed forces to seek math and science qualified recruits elsewhere, such as through accelerated citizenship for foreign nationals.^[30] Currently only one in four Americans of the proper age meet the moral, academic and physical standards for military service.^[31]

Personnel in each service[link]

2010 Demographic Reports^[32]

Component	Military	Enlisted	Officer	Female	Civilian
Army	561,979	467,537	94,442	75,507	299,644
Marine Corps[33][34]	202,612	181,221	21,391	13,493	20,484
Navy	323,139	270,460	52,679	51,385	179,293
Air Force	329,640	263,439	66,201	63,310	174,754
Coast Guard	41,327			6,790	7,057
Total Active	1,458,697	1,182,657	234,713	210,485	688,628
Army National Guard	362,015
Army Reserve	205,281
Marine Corps Forces Reserve	39,222
Navy Reserve	65,006
Air National Guard	107,676
Air Force Reserve	70,119
Coast Guard Reserve	7,942
Total Reserve Components	857,261
Other DOD Personnel					108,833

Personnel stationing[link]

Overseas[link]

As of 31 December 2010, U.S. Armed Forces were stationed in 150 countries.^[35] Some of the largest contingents are the 103,700 in Afghanistan, the 52,440 in Germany (see list), the 35,688 in Japan (USFJ), the 28,500 in Republic of Korea (USFK), the 9,660 in Italy, and the 9,015 in the United Kingdom respectively. These numbers change frequently due to the regular recall and deployment of units.

Altogether, 77,917 military personnel are located in Europe, 141 in the former Soviet Union, 47,236 in East Asia and the Pacific, 3,362 in North Africa, the Near East, and South Asia, 1,355 in sub-Saharan Africa and 1,941 in the Western Hemisphere excepting the United States itself.

Within the United States[link]

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

As of 31 December 2009, a total of 1,137,568 personnel were on active duty within the United States and its territories (including 84,461 afloat).^[24] The vast majority, 941,629 of them, were stationed at various bases within the Contiguous United States. There were an additional 37,245 in Hawaii and 20,450 in Alaska. 84,461 were at sea, 2,972 in Guam, and 179 in Puerto Rico.

Types of personnel[link]

Enlisted[link]

Service members of the United States at an American football event, L-R: U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Army personnel.

Prospective service members are often recruited from high school or college, the target age being those ages 18 to 35 in the Army, 18 to 28 in the Marine, 18 to 34 in the Navy, 18 to 27 in the Air Force, and 18 to 27 (up to age 32 if qualified for attending guaranteed 'A' school) in the Coast Guard. With the permission of a parent or guardian, applicants can enlist at the age of 17 and participate in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP). In this program, the applicant is given the opportunity to participate in locally sponsored military-related activities, which can range from sports to competitions (each recruiting station DEP program will vary), led by recruiters or other military liaisons.

After enlistment, new recruits undergo Basic Training (also known as boot camp in the Navy, Coast Guard and Marines), followed by schooling in their primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) or rating at any of the numerous training facilities around the world. Each branch conducts basic training differently. For example, Marines send all non-infantry MOS’s to an infantry skills course known as Marine Combat Training prior to their technical schools, while Air Force Basic Military Training graduates attend Technical Training and are awarded an Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) at the apprentice (3) skill level. All non-infantry Army recruits undergo Basic Combat Training (BCT), followed by Advanced Individual Training (AIT), while all combat arms recruits go to One Station Unit Training (OSUT) which combines BCT and AIT, while the Navy send its recruits to Recruit Training and then to "A" schools to earn a rating. The Coast Guard's recruits attend basic training and follow with an "A" school to earn a rating.

Initially, recruits without higher education or college degrees will hold the pay grade of E-1, and will be elevated to E-2 usually soon after the completion of Basic Training. 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. Participation in DEP is one way recruits can achieve rank before their departure to Basic Training.

There are several different authorized pay grade advancement requirements in each junior enlisted rank category (E-1 to E-3), which differ by service. Enlistees in the Army can attain the initial pay grade of E-4 (Specialist) with a full four-year degree, but the highest initial entry pay grade is usually E-3 (Members of the Army Band program can expect to enter service at the grade of E-4). Promotion through the junior enlisted ranks occurs upon attaining a specified number of years of service (which can be waived by the soldier's chain of command), a specified level of technical proficiency, and/or maintenance of good conduct. Promotion can be denied with reason.

Non-commissioned officers[link]

With very few exceptions, becoming a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the United States military is accomplished by progression through the lower enlisted ranks. However, unlike promotion through the lower enlisted tier, promotion to NCO is generally competitive. NCO ranks begin at E-4 or E-5, depending upon service, and are generally attained between three and six years of service. Junior NCOs function as first-line supervisors and squad leaders, training the junior enlisted in their duties and guiding their career advancement.

While considered part of the non-commissioned officer corps by law, senior non-commissioned officers (SNCOs) referred to as Chief Petty Officers in the Navy and Coast Guard, or staff non-commissioned officers in the Marine Corps, perform duties more focused on leadership rather than technical expertise. Promotion to the SNCO ranks, E-7 through E-9 (E-6 through E-9 in the Marine Corps) is highly competitive. Personnel totals at the pay grades of E-8 and E-9 are limited by federal law to 2.5 percent and 1 percent of a service's enlisted force, respectively. SNCOs act as leaders of small units and as staff. Some SNCOs manage programs at headquarters level and a select few wield responsibility at the highest levels of the military structure. Most unit commanders have a SNCO as an enlisted advisor. All SNCOs are expected to mentor junior commissioned officers as well as the enlisted in their duty sections. The typical enlistee can expect to attain SNCO rank after 10 to 16 years of service.

Each of the five services employs a single Senior Enlisted Advisor at departmental level. This individual is the highest ranking enlisted member within his/her respective service and functions as the chief advisor to the service secretary, service chief of staff, and Congress on matters concerning the enlisted force. These individuals carry responsibilities and protocol requirements equivalent to three-star general and flag officers. They are as follows:

• Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman
• Sergeant Major of the Army
• Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
• Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Warrant officers[link]

Additionally, all services except for the Air Force have an active warrant-officer corps. Above the rank of Warrant Officer One, these officers may also be commissioned, 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 (helicopter and fixed wing pilots in the U.S. Army), 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. Most Army pilots have 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.

Warrant officers in the U.S. military garner the same customs and courtesies as commissioned officers. They may attend the Officer's club, receive a command and are saluted by junior warrant officers and all enlisted service members.

The Air Force ceased to grant warrants in 1959 when the grades of E-8 and E-9 were created. Most non-flying duties performed by warrant officers in other services are instead performed by senior NCOs in the Air Force.

Commissioned officers[link]

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

• Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)
• Officer Candidate School (OCS): This can be through active-duty OCS academies, or, in the case of the National Guard, through state-run academies.
• Service academies (United States Military Academy at West Point, New York; United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; the United States Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut; and the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.)
• Direct commission: civilians who have special skills that are critical to sustaining military operations and supporting troops may receive direct commissions. These officers occupy leadership positions in the following areas: law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nurse corps, intelligence, supply-logistics-transportation, engineering, public affairs, chaplain corps, oceanography, and others.
• Battlefield commission: Under certain conditions, enlisted personnel who have skills that separate them from their peers can become officers by direct commissioning of a commander so authorized to grant them. This type of commission is rarely granted and is reserved only for the most exceptional enlisted personnel; it is done on an ad hoc basis, typically only in wartime. No direct battlefield commissions have been awarded since the Vietnam War. The Air Force and Navy do not employ this commissioning path.
• Limited Duty Officer: Due to the highly technical nature of some officer billets, the Navy employs a system of promoting proven senior enlisted members to the ranks of commissioned officers. They fill a need that is similar to, but distinct from that filled by Warrant Officers (to the point where their accession is through the same school). While Warrant Officers remain technical experts, LDOs take on the role of a generalist, like that of officers commissioned through more traditional sources. LDOs are limited, not by their authority, but by the types of billets they are allowed to fill. However, in recent times, they have come to be used more and more like their more-traditional counterparts.

Officers receive a commission assigning them to the officer corps from the President (with the consent of the Senate). To accept this commission, all officers must take an oath of office.

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

Company-grade officers in pay grades O-1 through O-3 (known as "junior" officers in the Navy and Coast Guard) function as leaders of smaller units or sections of a unit, typically with an experienced SNCO assistant and mentor.

Field-grade officers in pay grades O-4 through O-6 (known as "senior" officers in the Navy and Coast Guard) lead significantly larger and more complex operations, with gradually more competitive promotion requirements.

General officers, or flag officers in the Navy and Coast Guard, serve at the highest levels and oversee major portions of the military mission.

Five-star ranking[link]

These are ranks of the highest honor and responsibility in the armed forces, but they are almost never given during peacetime service and have only been held by a very few officers during wartime:

• General of the Army
• Fleet Admiral
• General of the Air Force

No corresponding rank exists for the Marine Corps or the Coast Guard. As with three- and four-star ranks, Congress is the approving authority for a five-star rank confirmation.

The rank of General of the Armies is considered senior to General of the Army, but was never held by active duty officers at the same time as persons who held the rank of General of the Army. It has been held by two people: John J. Pershing who received the rank in 1919 after World War I, and George Washington who received it posthumously in 1976 as part of the American Bicentennial celebrations. Pershing, appointed to General of the Armies in active duty status for life, was still alive at the time of the first five-star appointments during World War II, and was thereby acknowledged as superior in grade by seniority to any World War II era Generals of the Army. George Washington's appointment by Public Law 94-479 to General of the Armies of the United States was established by law as having "rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present," making him not only superior to Pershing, but superior to any grade in the United States Army in perpetuity.

In the Navy, the theoretically corresponding rank to General of the Armies is Admiral of the Navy. It was never held by active duty officers at the same time as persons who held the rank of Fleet Admiral. George Dewey is the only person to have ever held this rank. After the establishment of the rank of Fleet Admiral in 1944, the Department of the Navy specified that the rank of Fleet Admiral was to be junior to the rank of Admiral of the Navy. However, since Dewey died in 1917 before the establishment of the rank of Fleet Admiral, the six-star rank status has not been totally confirmed.

Order of precedence[link]

Under current Department of Defense regulation, the various components of the Armed Forces have a set order of seniority. Examples of the use of this system include the display of service flags, placement of Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen in formation, etc. When the United States Coast Guard shall operate as part of the Navy, the cadets, United States Coast Guard Academy, the United States Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard Reserve shall take precedence, respectively, after the midshipmen, United States Naval Academy; the United States Navy; and Naval Reserve.^[36]

• Cadets, US Military Academy
• Midshipmen, US Naval Academy
• Cadets, United States Coast Guard Academy (when the Coast Guard shall operate as part of the Navy)
• Cadets, US Air Force Academy
• Cadets, United States Coast Guard Academy (when the Coast Guard shall operate as part of the Department of Homeland Security)
• Midshipmen, US Merchant Marine Academy
• United States Army
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Navy
• United States Coast Guard (when the Coast Guard shall operate as part of the Navy)
• United States Air Force
• United States Coast Guard (when the Coast Guard shall operate as part of the Department of Homeland Security)
• Army National Guard of the United States
• United States Army Reserve
• United States Marine Corps Reserve
• United States Naval Reserve
• United States Coast Guard Reserve (when the Coast Guard shall operate as part of the Navy)
• Air National Guard of the United States
• United States Air Force Reserve
• United States Coast Guard Reserve (when the Coast Guard shall operate as part of the Department of Homeland Security)
• Other training and auxiliary organizations of the Army, Marine Corps, United States Merchant Marine, Civil Air Patrol, and United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, as in the preceding order.

Note: While the United States Navy is actually older than the United States Marine Corps,^[37] the Marine Corps takes precedence over the Navy due to previous inconsistencies in the Navy's birth date.^[37] The Marine Corps has recognized its observed birth date on a more consistent basis.^[37] The Second Continental Congress established the Navy on 13 October 1775^[37] and the Marine Corps on 10 November 1775.^[37] The Navy did not officially recognize 13 October 1775 as its birth date until 1972 when, then-Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt authorized it to be observed as such.^[37]

See also[link]

Military of the United States portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Military of the United States

• Official U.S. Department of Defense website
• Global Security on U.S. Military Operations
• Department of Defense regulation detailing Order of precedence: DoD Directive 1005.8, 31 October 1977 and also in law at Title 10, United States Code, Section 133.
• Army regulation detailing Order of Precedence: AR 840-10, 1 November 1998
• Marine Corps regulation on Order of Precedence: NAVMC 2691, Marine Corps Drill and Ceremonies Manual, Part II, Ceremonies, Chapter 12-1.
• Navy regulation detailing Order of Precedence: U.S. Navy Regulations, Chapter 12, Flags, Pennants, Honors, Ceremonies and Customs.
• Air Force regulation detailing Order of Precedence: AFMAN 36-2203, Drill and Ceremonies, 3 June 1996, Chapter 7, Section A.