United States Army

United States Army
"This We'll Defend" Created 14 June 1775
Material
Main battle tanks	N/A
Armored vehicles	N/A
Attack helicopters	N/A
Personnel
Officers	90,795 (2009)
Enlisted	473,651 (2009)
Reserves	458,220 (2009)
Cadets
Civilian employees	281,632 (2009)
Chief officer candidate school	United States Military Academy West Point, New York
Enlisted bootcamp	Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Jackson, South Carolina Fort Knox, Kentucky Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri Fort McClellan, Alabama Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Leadership
Secretary of the Army	John McHugh
Chief of Staff	General George W. Casey, Jr.
Vice Chief of Staff	General Peter W. Chiarelli
Sergeant Major of the Army	SMA Kenneth O. Preston

The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. As of 2009, it consisted of 549,015 brave soldiers on active duty, 358,391 in the Army National Guard (ARNG) and 205,297 in the United States Army Reserve (USAR).^[1]

History[edit]

see War Department

The Army was created by order of the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1775. It is the oldest branch of the United States 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.

President Theodore Roosevelt modernized the U.S. Army, with the reforms of Elihu Root. Previously, the Army had maintained many small garrisons scattered in the western states to control Indians (which were unnecessary after 1890), and small coastal defense installations near port cities (which were never used). With the reforms, it now had, for the first time in its history, a general staff and advanced training schools to professionalize the officer corps. Even so, the army was amazingly small in terms of world comparisons, as the graph demonstrates for 1906.

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 early 1950s.

Organization[edit]

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.

General Officers
Pay grade	O-11	O-10	0-9	O-8	O-7
Rank insignia
Title	General of the Army	General	Lieutenant General	Major General	Brigadier General

Commissioned Officers
Pay grade	O-6	O-5	O-4	O-3	O-2	O-1
Insignia
Title	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	1st Lieutenant	2nd Lieutenant

Senior Noncommissioned Officers
Pay grade	E-9	E-9	E-9	E-8	E-8	E-7
Rank insignia
Title	Sergeant Major of the Army	Command Sergeant Major	Sergeant Major	First Sergeant	Master Sergeant	Sergeant First Class

Junior Noncommissioned Officers
Pay grade	E-6	E-5	E-4
Rank insignia
Title	Staff Sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal

Junior Enlisted
Pay grade	E-4	E-3	E-2	E-1
Rank insignia				NO INSIGNIA
Title	Specialist	Private First Class	Private	Private

U.S. Army: Psychological warfare[edit]

In terms of conflicts, psychological warfare (PSYWAR) is used "to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people."^[2]

In military conflicts it is often also known as PSYOP, Psy Ops and "winning the hearts and minds". In military and political conflicts it is often referred to as propaganda.

According to the U.S. Army:

“

Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Soldiers benefit the Army’s missions by using unconventional techniques. Their intelligence, interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, and foreign language proficiency help sway opinions and actions of foreign governments, groups, and individuals. Psychological warfare requires adaptability, resilience, and problem solving to be successful. To become a PSYOP Soldier, you’ll be thoroughly tested and trained on your critical thinking skills, and your mental and physical toughness, in order to prepare you for work in the field.[3]

”

2003 U.S. Army field manual: Psychological Operations Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures[edit]

• 2003 U.S. Army field manual: Psychological Operations Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures

Lines of persuasion: 2003 U.S. Army Field Manual: Psychological Operations Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures[edit]

• 2003 U.S. Army Field Manual: Psychological Operations Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures - Lines of persuasion

Public relations[edit]

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, easier to deploy, and 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." According to General Schoomaker,

“

The change gives soldiers the respect and importance they've always deserved, especially now in their fight against global terrorism.[4]

”

Bibliography[edit]

• 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).

External links[edit]

• Official US Army website
• Official US Army Recruiting site

References[edit]

1. ↑ United States Army Demographics
2. ↑ Szunyogh, Béla (1955). Psychological warfare; an introduction to ideological propaganda and the techniques of psychological warfare. United States: William-Freder
3. ↑ PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS - U.S. Army website
4. ↑ Military Capitalization