A Brief Overview about the US Military

What do you know about the US Military? It is always nice to learn things, especially on areas and expertise where you don't imagine yourself to conquer. But it is also something to gain a good insight to when it is part of your plans to join the crew. There are lots of ways for you to find out more about the subject. You can learn a lot from reading and digging on materials being handed out as part of the recruitment process. 

Learning more about the subject just for the heck of it is very different when you have already decided to eventually be part of the military. If the latter is the reason why you want to find out more about the matter, you must first think hard about your decision. Is this what you really want to do? After you have joined the military, are you going to seriously push through with the venture? You must look at your reasons for joining as well as the reasons that will make you decide to stay.

Quick Facts

To kick off your learning venture, here are some interesting facts about the military.

1. The United States armed forces are the collaboration of all the branches of military forces in the US. It was first formed with the goal to defend the country against the British Empire. This was enacted by the second Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. 

2. In 1775, the Navy, Army and Marine Corps were formed to be used the year after in the declaration of independence. In 1915, the Coast Guard was formed through the merge of the United States Life-Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service. The latter has been in existence since 1790. The United States Air Force was hailed as an independent service in 1947. It used to be the United States Army Air Corps since 1926 until the time that it was finalized to become the US Air Force.

3. The military in the US played a vital role in the formation and continuing development of the country's history. The impact was most felt when the nation won that Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. These occurrences strengthened the sense of national unity and the people developed their sense of identity when the nation had won those landmark battles. 

4. The commander-in-chief of the military is the president of the country. The policy of the military is being carried out through the joint force of the president and the Secretary of Defense. At the height of the September 11 attacks, the Department of Homeland Security was formed in hopes to fight the internal threats that the country gets.

5. The military in the US is composed of about three million personnel, which makes it one of the largest militaries worldwide. Half of these numbers are allocated as reserve personnel. Its manpower can be greatly attributed to the large pool of volunteers that it gets. 

6. The armed forces in the US have powerful and advanced gadgets and equipments that give them power and confidence to fight their battles. They have the full support of the US government and it gives them full support in terms of budget so that they can afford advanced equipments in large quantities.

7. The budget of the US military amounts to about $711 billion each year. This is about 50 percent of the expenditures of the military worldwide. 