United
States Army|
Country
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Allegiance
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Type
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Role
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Ground-based military warfare
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Size
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546,047 Active personnel
557,246 Reserve and National Guard personnel 1,105,301 total[3] |
The United
States Army (USA) is the largest branch of the Armed Forces of the
United States that performs land-based
military operations; and is one of the seven Uniformed
services of the United States. As the largest and senior branch of
the U.S. military, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed (14 June 1775)
to fight the American
Revolutionary War (1775–83) — before the U.S. was established as a
country.[5] After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the
Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784, to
replace the disbanded Continental Army.[6][7] The United States Army considers itself
descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from
the origin of that armed force in 1775.[5]
As a uniformed military service, the Army is part of the Department
of the Army, which is one of the three military departments of the Department
of Defense. The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian officer, the Secretary
of the Army, and by a chief military officer, the Chief
of Staff of the Army. The ranking officer of the U.S. Army is the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In the fiscal year 2011, the Regular Army
(USA) reported a strength of 546,057 soldiers; the Army National Guard
(ARNG) reported 358,078 soldiers, and the United States Army
Reserve (USAR) reported 201,166 soldiers; the combined-component
strength of the U.S. Army was 1,105,301 soldiers.[3] As a branch of the armed forces, the
mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by
providing prompt, sustained, land dominance, across the full range of military
operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders
