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Quote from : Wikipedia : United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for land-based military operations.

It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven uniformed services.

The modern Army has its roots in the Continental Army which was formed on 14 June 1775, before the establishment of the United States, to meet the demands of the American Revolutionary War.

Congress created the United States Army on 14 June 1784 after the end of the war to replace the disbanded Continental Army.

The Army considers itself to be descended from the Continental Army and thus dates its inception from the origins of that force.

The primary mission of the Army is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities ... in support of the National Security and Defense Strategies."

Control and operation is administered by the Department of the Army, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense.

The civilian head is the Secretary of the Army and the highest ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff, unless the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Army officers.

In fiscal year 2009, the Regular Army reported a strength of 549,015 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) reported 358,391 and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) reported 205,297 putting the combined component strength total at 1,112,703 soldiers.

Quote from : Wikipedia : United States Navy

The United States Navy (USN) is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.

As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve.

It operates 284 ships in active service and more than 3,700 aircraft.

The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined.

The U.S. Navy also has the world's largest carrier fleet, with 11 in service and one under construction.

The Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter.

The United States Constitution provided the legal basis for a military force by giving Congress the power "to provide and maintain a navy".

Depredations against American shipping by Barbary Coast pirates in the Mediterranean Sea spurred Congress to employ this power by passing the Naval Act of 1794 ordering the construction and manning of six frigates.

These ships were used to end most pirate activity off the Barbary Coast.

In the twentieth century American blue-water navy capability was demonstrated by the 1907–1909 world tour of the Great White Fleet.

The 21st century United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in such areas as East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

It is a blue water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward areas during peacetime, and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it an active player in American foreign and defense policy.

The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, which is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Navy.

The Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense.

The highest ranking Naval officer is the Chief of Naval Operations.

Quote from : Wikipedia : United States Air Force

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare, space warfare, and cyberwarfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services.

Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947.

It is the most recent branch of the U.S. military to be formed.

In its 2010 Posture Statement, the USAF articulates its core functions as Nuclear Deterrence Operations, Special Operations, Air Superiority, Global Integrated ISR, Space Superiority, Command and Control, Cyberspace Superiority, Personnel Recovery, Global Precision Attack, Building Partnerships, Rapid Global Mobility and Agile Combat Support.

As of 2009

Important Topic Updates
the USAF operates 5,573 manned aircraft in service (3,990 USAF; 1,213 Air National Guard; and 370 Air Force Reserve); approximately 180 unmanned combat air vehicles, 2,130 air-launched cruise missiles, and 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The USAF has 330,159 personnel on active duty, 68,872 in the Selected and Individual Ready Reserves, and 94,753 in the Air National Guard as of September 2008.

In addition, the USAF employs 151,360 civilian personnel, and has 57,000 auxiliary members in the Civil Air Patrol.

The Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force who oversees all administrative and policy affairs.

The Department of the Air Force is a division of the Department of Defense, headed by the Secretary of Defense.

The highest ranking military officer in the Department of the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

Quote from : Wikipedia : United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces.

It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States.

In the civilian leadership structure of the United States military, the Marine Corps is a component of the United States Department of the Navy, often working closely with U.S. naval forces for training, transportation and logistic purposes; however, in the military leadership structure the Marine Corps is a separate branch.

Captain Samuel Nicholas formed two battalions of Continental Marines on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as naval infantry.

Since then, the mission of the Marine Corps has evolved with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy.

The Marine Corps has served in every American armed conflict and attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practices of amphibious warfare proved prescient and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of World War II.

By the mid-20th century, the Marine Corps had become the dominant theorist and practitioner of amphibious warfare.

Its ability to respond rapidly to regional crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy.

The United States Marine Corps includes just over 203,000 (as of October 2009) active duty Marines and just under 40,000 reserve Marines.

It is the smallest of the United States' armed forces in the Department of Defense (the United States Coast Guard is smaller, about one-fifth the size of the Marine Corps, but is normally under the Department of Homeland Security).

The Marine Corps is nonetheless larger than the entire armed forces of many significant military powers; for example, it is larger than the active duty Israel Defense Forces or the whole of the British Army.

The Marine Corps accounts for around six percent of the Military budget of the United States.

The cost per Marine is $20,000 less than the cost of a serviceman from the other services, and the entire force can be used for both hybrid and major combat operations, that is, the Marines cover the entire Three Block War.