# United States Armed Forces

| United States Armed Forces |
| --- |
|      Emblems of the U.S. Armed Forces service branches |
| Founded | 14 June 1775 (1775-06-14) |
| Service branches | * U.S. Army
* U.S. Marine Corps
* U.S. Navy
* U.S. Air Force
* U.S. Space Force
* U.S. Coast Guard
 |
| Headquarters | The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia |
| Website | defense.gov
www.army.mil
dhs.gov |
| Leadership |
| Commander-in-Chief | [[Donald Trump]] |
| Secretary of Defense |  Pete Hegseth |
| Secretary of Homeland Security |  Kristi Noem |
| Chief of Staff | J. Daniel Caine |
| Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |  Gen Dan Caine, USAF
 |
| Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |  ADM Christopher W. Grady, USN |
| Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman |  SEAC David L. Isom, USN |
|  |
| Personnel |
| Military age | 17 with parental consent, 18 for voluntary service. |
| Conscription | Inactive since 1973 (males must register at age 18) |
| Available for military service | 15 million (2021), age 18–25 |
| Active personnel | 1,328,000 (ranked 3rd) |
| Reserve personnel | 799,500 |
| Expenditure |
| Budget | $1.02 Trillion (FY 2026) |
| Percent of GDP | 3.4% |
| Industry |
| Domestic suppliers | List |
| Foreign suppliers |  United Kingdom  Germany  Netherlands  France  Israel  Italy  Sweden  Australia  Japan  Jordan  Spain  Norway   Switzerland  Singapore  South Africa  Czech Republic  Canada  South Korea  Brazil  Bulgaria |
| Annual imports | US$652.6 million (2014–2022) |
| Annual exports | US$28.50 billion (2014–2022) |
| Related articles |
| History | Military history of the United States Warfare directory of the United States Conflicts involving the United States Battles involving the United States |
| Ranks | * **Commissioned officer**
	+ Army officer
	+ Marine Corps officer
	+ Navy officer
	+ Air Force officer
	+ Space Force officer
	+ Coast Guard officer
* **Warrant officer**
	+ Army warrant officer
	+ Marine Corps warrant officer
	+ Navy warrant officer
	+ Air Force warrant officer
	+ Coast Guard warrant officer
* **Enlisted**
	+ Army enlisted
	+ Marine Corps enlisted
	+ Navy enlisted
	+ Air Force enlisted
	+ Space Force enlisted
	+ Coast Guard enlisted
 |

The **United States Armed Forces** are the military of the United States. It has six branches: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard.

The current President of the United States is Donald J Trump. He is the current Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. All branches except the Coast Guard are part of the Department of Defense, which is controlled by the Secretary of Defense. The Coast Guard is located within the Department of Homeland Security. The Marine Corps located within the Department Of The Navy.

About 1.4 million people are currently on active duty in the military with another 1,259,000 people on reserve (with 456,000 people in the Army and Air National Guard). There is currently no conscription. Women can serve in most combat positions, and in all non-combat military jobs. Because of war, some of these non-combat jobs actually see combat regularly.

## Branches of the Military

There are six main parts, called "branches," of the U.S. military:

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| **Branch** | **What they do** |
| **Army** | The oldest and largest branch. They fight mostly on land. |
| **Navy** | They use ships and submarines to protect the oceans and seas. |
| **Marine Corps** | They are experts at landing on beaches and fighting in many different places. |
| **Air Force** | They use airplanes, jets, and drones to fight in the air. |
| **Space Force** | The newest branch. They protect U.S. satellites and interests in space. |
| **Coast Guard** | They protect the coasts of the U.S. and rescue people at sea. |

## History

In the American Revolutionary War, the U.S. military was formed in 1775. Initially, it was known as the Continental Army and was commanded by George Washington.

The U.S. military has since been engaged in numerous large wars, including:

* World War I and World War II: These wars assisted the U.S. in becoming a superpower.
* The Cold War: Many years of tension with the Soviet Union (Russia).
* Modern War: War on Terror and Middle East conflicts fall under this category of modern wars.

## Personnel (People)

The military has two major categories of persons:

* Enlisted Personnel: These are the working people who perform the majority of the operations and work.
* Officers: These are the heads that strategize missions and control the recruited members.

By the year 2026, the number of people on Active Duty (full-time workers) is approximately 1.3 million. Hundreds of thousands of National Guard and Reserves members also train part-time and can be deployed to assist in times of emergency.

## Budget and Technology

No other country spends more on military expenditure than the United States. The budget in 2026 can be described as more than 1 trillion. This money is used for:

* Salaries: The remuneration of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
* Hardware: The purchase of such modern equipment as F-35 Lightning II jet, Abrams tank, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
* Research: Innovation new technology such as cognitive warfare (protecting information), and space defense.

## Ranks

All branches of the United States military have Commissioned Officers and Non Commissioned/Enlisted Personnel. Most Enlisted members with a rank of E-4 and above are called Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), the exception is the Air Force where E-5 is considered the first Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) rank. Their usual duties are to supervise or make sure that common jobs are done properly every day. Most branches of the United States Military include *Warrant Officers* (*Chief Warrant Officers* in the Navy.) They are considered experts in their field, they are higher rank than other enlisted troops, but below Commissioned Officer. There are four or five ranks of Warrant Officers in most of the branches: WO-1 through WO-4 or WO-5(CWO-1 to CWO-4 or CWO-5)

Here are some common ranks for the US Army,Air Force and Marines. These branches of the military use different names for the enlisted ranks, but they all use the same for officers. The Navy and the Coast Guard have different ranks; for those see United States Navy. There are no five star general Ranks. The General of the Army, General of the Air Force and Fleet Admiral are only used in wartime situations. The United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force have Commissioned Officer and Non-Commissioned/Enlisted Personnel Ranks with the Navy and Coast Guard also having Officer Ranks. These Titles are seen below.

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|

| Rank | Army | Marines | Air Force |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Army,Marines and Air Force Non Commissioned/Enlisted Personnel Ranks** |
| E-1 | Private | Private | Airman Basic |
| E-2 | Private | Private First Class | Airman |
| E-3 | Private First Class | Lance Corporal | Airman First Class |
| E-4 | Corporal Specialist 4 | Corporal | Senior Airman |
| E-5 | Sergeant | Sergeant | Staff Sergeant |
| E-6 | Staff Sergeant | Staff Sergeant | Technical Sergeant |
| E-7 | Sergeant First Class | Gunnery Sergeant | Master Sergeant |
| E-8 | Master Sergeant First Sergeant | Master Sergeant First Sergeant | Senior Master Sergeant |
| E-9 | Sergeant Major | Sergeant Major Master Gunnery Sergeant | Chief Master Sergeant |
| E-9\* | Sergeant Major Of the Army\* | Sergeant Major Of the Marine Corps\* | Chief Master Sergeant Of the Air Force\* |

\*Each branch of the military has only one of these specific E-9 grade enlisted personnel and are considered the senior enlisted person of their branch. The Sergeant Major of the Army,Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps,and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force are the spokespersons of the enlisted force at the highest levels of their services. |   |

| Rank | Title |
| --- | --- |
| **Army,Marine Corps,Air Force and Space Force Commissioned Officer Ranks** | **Navy Officer Ranks** |
| O-1 | Second Lieutenant | Ensign |
| O-2 | First Lieutenant | Lieutenant Junior Grade |
| O-3 | Captain | Lieutenant |
| O-4 | Major | Lieutenant Commander |
| O-5 | Lieutenant Colonel | Commander |
| O-6 | Colonel | Captain |
| O-7 | Brigadier General | Rear Admiral (Lower Half) |
| O-8 | Major General | Rear Admiral |
| O-9 | Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral |
| O-10 | General | Admiral |

 |

## Other information

The number of generals and admirals, is over 800.

## Other websites

* Official U.S. DOD site Archived 2009-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
* Global Security on U.S. Military Operations
* Today's Military website
* Largest Military Personnel Locator Archived 2012-08-12 at the Wayback Machine
* US Military ranks and rank insignia
* US Military Mottos

### Branch links

* U.S. Army
* U.S. Navy
* U.S. Air Force
* U.S. Marine Corps Archived 2021-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
* U.S. Coast Guard