The U.S. Army has three components:
Components of the U.S. Army
All three components have taken part in every war of the United States from World War I onward. The use of the Army Reserve and National Guard increased after the Vietnam War. Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War, peacekeeping in Kosovo, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The U.S. Army is structured roughly:
Structure of the U.S. Army
The Army is organized by function. Combat forces include Infantry, Armor, Cavalry, and Special Operations Forces. Combat support troops include Artillery, Army Aviation, combat engineers, Army Logistics, Army Medical Corps, Army Transportation, Army Ordnance, Adjutant General's Corps, Signal Corps, and the Judge Advocate Generals Corps.
The Officer Corps provides leadership and managerial functions, and is composed of
Once commissioned, an officer attends several levels of professional education, starting with branch qualification in their respective branch and concluding in Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Professional education is required for promotion at certain grades.
The Warrant Officer Corps is largely composed of highly trained specialists in certain select areas who must have a rank commensurate with their responsibility. Warrant officers receive the same pay as an analagous commissioned officer (a WO1 is paid the same as a second lieutenant, CW2 as a first lieutenant, CW3 as a captain, and CW4 as a major) but rank below commissioned officers and above non-commissioned officers.
The primary sources for Warrant Officers are the various Warrant Officer Training Programs at military posts and installations around the United States.
The Non-Commissioned Officer Corps (or NCO Corps) is the first line of leadership for the Enlisted members of the Army, and includes the ranks of
It should be noted here that it is the outstanding quality of the Non-Commissioned Officer ranks which has largely built the excellent reputation of the United States Army. Until relatively recent history, most countries depended upon their officer corps to micromanage strategy, tactics and virtually every other aspect of military operations. With the development of the NCO Corps, the United States Army took a giant step toward utilizing the skills, intelligence, adaptability and independence of its citizens during times of conflict. The confidence and esteem in which the Officer Corps holds the NCOs which serve in the United States Army is based upon hard-won combat experience. This experience has repeatedly shown that rank is no indicator of leadership ability, and that leaders will emerge during times of hardship and conflict.
Enlisted ranks are
All members of the Army must take an oath upon being sworn in as members, swearing (or affirming) to "protect the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic." This emphasis on the defense of the United States Constitution illustrates the concern of the framers that the military be subordinate to legitimate civilian authority. The civilian executive is the Secretary of the Army, formerly the Secretary of War, at the founding of the Republic.
The professional head of the United States Army is the Army Chief of Staff. This position is filled by a four star general who sits on the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. As with the other members of that committee, the Army Chief of Staff is not in the direct chain of command. His function is administrative and policy making. The current Army Chief of Staff is General Peter Schoomaker.
The most senior Army generals who are directly in the chain of command are those who head up the regional joint commands around the world. An example is General John Abazaid, CINCCENTCOM, the Commander-in-Chief Central Command. Three star positions in the Army include some deputy commanders-in-chief of the regional commands, heads of the army sections of those commands, and the general officers commanding of corps.Rank Structure
There are several sources of commissioned officers:
Officers receive a "Commission" assigning them to the Officer Corps by act of Congress. Commissioned officers are assigned to a branch of service until they reach the rank of Brigadier General, where it is assumed that they are competent to command soldiers of all branches.
Training for Non-Commissioned Officers takes place at any of the various NCO training centers around the world.
Training for enlisted soldiers usually consists of Basic Training, and Advanced Individual Training in their primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) at any of the numerous MOS training facilities around the world.Leadership
| Major Command and Commanders | Location of Headquarters |
|---|---|
| Intelligence & Security Command (INSCOM)-Major General Keith B. Alexander | Fort Belvoir, Virginia |
| Criminal Investigation Command (CID)-Major General Donald J. Ryder | Fort Belvoir, Virginia |
| Corps of Engineers (USACE)-Lieutenant General Robert B. Flowers | Washington, D.C. |
| Medical Command (MEDCOM)-Lieutenant General James B. Peake | Fort Sam Houston, Texas |
| Army Materiel Command (AMC)-General Paul J. Kern | Alexandria, Virginia |
| Training & Doctrine Command (TRADOC)-Leiutenant General Larry R. Jordan | Fort Monroe, Virginia |
| Forces Command (FORSCOM)-General Larry R. Ellis | Fort McPherson, Georgia |
| US Army South (ARSO)-Major General Alfred A. Valenzuela | Fort Sam Houston, Texas |
| Special Operations Command (ARSOC)-Lieutenant General Philip R. Kesinger | Fort Bragg, North Carolina |
| Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC)-Major General Ann E. Dunwoody | Fort Eustis, Alexandria, Virginia |
| Space & Missile Defense Command (SMDC)-Lieutenant General Joseph M. Consumano, Jr. | Arlington, Virginia |
| 8th US Army (EUSA)-Lieutenant General Charles C. Campbell | Yongsan Army Garrison, Seoul |
| Army Pacific Command (ARPAC)-Lieutenant General James L. Campbell | Fort Shafter, Hawaii |
| US Army Europe, 7th Army (AREUR)-General B. B. Bell | Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg, Germany |
| Army Central Command (ARCENT)-Lieutenant General David D. McKiernan | Fort McPherson, Georgia |
| Arny Reserve Command (ARC)-Lieutenant General James R. Helmly | Fort McPherson, Georgia |
| Army National Guard (ARNG)-Lieutenant General Roger G. Schultz | Washington, D.C. |
First Army "First In Deed" (Reserve)
See also:
Formations of the United States Army
Third Army: Army Central Command (ARCENT)
Fifth Army (Reserve)
Seventh Army: United States Army Europe
Eighth Army: Korea
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