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Air Force
We have been united in defending America since the dawn of flight. Learn more about the storied history of the world’s preeminent aerospace power by clicking the tabs below. For a comprehensive overview, click here.
On August 1, 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps formed an Aeronautical Division. This action came only three-and-a-half years after the Wright brothers flew the world’s first powered airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. At first, however, the Aeronautical Division was mainly interested in balloons and dirigibles instead of heavier-than-air flying machines. The Army had already used manned balloons for aerial observation during the Civil War and Spanish-American War in the 19th Century. The Aeronautical Division accepted delivery of its first airplane from the Wright brothers in 1909. Under the leadership of brave pioneers such as Capt. Benjamin D. Foulois, a small band of early Army Airmen experimented with various aircraft and formed an operational unit, the 1st Aero Squadron, in December 1913.
On July 18, 1914, as a result of congressional legislation, the Army established the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps to improve its fledgling flying capabilities. Just a few weeks later, Europe plunged into the massive military struggle that became known as World War I. The Central Powers (primarily Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire) fought the Allied Powers (led by Britain, France, Italy and Russia). By April 1917, when the United States entered the war on the side of the Allied Powers, each of the major combatants had developed aircraft industries far superior to those of the United States.
Despite optimistic plans and ample funding, the United States proved unable to catch up to the European nations in aviation technology. Responding to criticism of the American aircraft effort, President Woodrow Wilson created the Army Air Service and placed it directly under the War Department on May 24, 1918. By the time of the armistice in November 1918, the Air Service had grown to more than 19,000 officers and 178,000 enlisted men while American industry had turned out 11,754 aircraft (mostly trainers like the JN-4 Jenny). The Air Service soon lost most of these people and planes in a rapid demobilization right after the war.
Although failing to deploy competitive combat aircraft, the United States had sent many fine Airmen to Europe. Flying mostly French-built planes, they distinguished themselves both in Allied units and as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) led by Gen. John J. Pershing. By the time Germany surrendered, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell had honed many of the AEF’s aero squadrons and groups into a formidable striking force. While the outcome of the Great War was decided primarily by horrible attrition on the ground and a strangling maritime blockade of Germany, air power had shown its potential for autonomous offensive operations as well as providing valuable support to surface forces. The United Kingdom had recognized the importance of air power by creating the Royal Air Force, independent of the British Army and Royal Navy, in April 1918.
Notwithstanding a bitter struggle by visionaries such as Billy Mitchell, the United States did not follow the British lead and create a separate air force. The Army Reorganization Act of 1920 made the Air Service a combat arm of the Army, and the Air Corps Act of 1926 changed its name to the Air Corps on July 2 of that year. On March 1, 1935, General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) assumed command of U.S.-based Air Corps tactical units, which previously had been parceled out to regional Army corps commands. Yet even after Germany, Japan and Italy began to build up their armed forces, the Air Corps (as well as the rest of the Army) remained a small, peacetime establishment with only limited funds for growth or modernization.
After September 1939, when Adolf Hitler launched World War II by invading Poland, the Air Corps began a steady growth from 26,000 personnel and fewer than 2,000 planes. On June 20, 1941, the Department of War created the Army Air Forces (AAF) as its aviation element and shortly thereafter made it coequal to the Army Ground Forces. The Air Corps remained as one of the Army’s combat arms, like the infantry. 
Expansion of the AAF accelerated after the surprise Japanese attack on Hawaii in December 1941 propelled the United States into the war. Under the leadership of Gen. Henry H. (“Hap”) Arnold, the Army Air Forces oversaw mobilization of the nation’s aviation industry and deployment of the largest air armada of all time. The AAF’s inventory encompassed a wide range of training, transport, pursuit, attack, reconnaissance and bomber aircraft. These included the ubiquitous C-47 Skytrain, the splendid P-51 Mustang, the rugged B-17 Flying Fortress and the awesome B-29 Superfortress. Drawing upon American industrial prowess and human resources, the AAF reached a peak strength of 80,000 aircraft and 2.4 million personnel organized into major commands, numbered air forces, air divisions, groups and squadrons. AAF units conducted a wide range of air operations over every theater of battle from the jungle-clad islands of the Southwest Pacific to the sun-baked deserts of Northern Africa, from the icy waters of the North Atlantic to the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas.
By the last year of the war, the quantity and quality of AAF aircraft and Airmen dominated the skies over both Germany and Japan, all but paralyzing their war economies. Air power did not win the war by itself but did make possible the Allies’ total victory over the Axis powers, punctuated in August 1945 when two B-29s dropped atomic bombs on Japan.
Much as it did a quarter century before, the United States immediately demobilized its armed forces after World War II. Based on the AAF’s wartime achievements and future potential, however, the U.S. Air Force won its independence as a full partner with the Army and the Navy on September 18, 1947. Stuart Symington became the first Secretary of the Air Force, and Gen. Carl A. Spaatz its first Chief of Staff. Within a month, on October 14, 1947, test pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell XS-1 past the speed of sound, launching the new Air Force into the supersonic era.
Army
Two hundred and thirty-six years ago, the United States A
rmy was established to defend our Nation. From the Revolutionary War to the current operations taking place around the world, our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs. This 236th birthday commemorates America’s Army – Soldiers, Families and Civilians – who are achieving a level of excellence that is truly Army Strong. Being Army Strong goes beyond physical endurance and mental preparedness. It encompasses an indomitable spirit, and high ethical and moral values. These are not only desirable traits in a person, but in a Nation that wishes to live up to the ideals and vision of its founders. We are “America’s Army: The Strength of the Nation.” U.S. Army 1775-2011.
Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five armed forces of the United States and the only military organization within the Department of Homeland Security. The Coast Guard protects the maritime economy and the environment, defends our maritime borders, and saves those in peril. The U.S. Coast Guard is a unique agency of the federal government. We trace our history back to 4 August 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling. Known variously through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the Revenue Marine and the Revenue Cutter Service, we expanded in size and responsibilities as the nation grew.
The service received its present name in 1915 under an act of Congress when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the Life-Saving Service. The nation then had a single maritime service dedicated to saving life at sea and enforcing the nation’s maritime laws. The Coast Guard began to maintain the country’s aids to maritime navigation, including operating the nation’s lighthouses, when President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the transfer of the Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard in 1939. In 1946 Congress permanently transferred the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation to the Coast Guard, thereby placing merchant marine licensing and merchant vessel safety under our purview. 
The Coast Guard is one of the oldest organizations of the federal government and, until the Navy Department was established in 1798, we served as the nation’s only armed force afloat. We continued to protect the nation throughout our long history and have served proudly in every one of the nation’s conflicts. Our national defense responsibilities remain one of our most important functions even today. In times of peace we operate as part of the Department of Homeland Security, serving as the nation’s front-line agency for enforcing our laws at sea, protecting the marine environment and our vast coastline and ports, and saving life. In times of war, or at the direction of the President, we serve under the Navy Department. We are the oldest sea-going branch of the military services.
Marine Corps
http://www.usmc.mil/Pages/Default.aspx
SEMPER FI
Semper Fidelis distinguishes the Marine Corps bond from any other. It goes beyond teamwork – it is a brotherhood and lasts for life. Latin for “always faithful,” Semper Fidelis became the Marine Corps motto in 1883. It guides Marines to remain faithful to the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to country, no matter what. Becoming a Marine is a transformation that cannot be undone, and Semper Fi reminds us of that. Once made, a Marine will forever live by the ethics and values of the Corps. There is no such thing as an ex-Marine. 
Fighting and winning our nation’s battles since July 7, 1941, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing has distinguished itself from the South Pacific and snow-topped mountains of the Korean Peninsula to Southeast Asia’s tropical rainforest and Afghanistan’s parched deserts. Always a force in readiness, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing stands poised to strike at a moment’s notice to seize the initiative. The fourteen streamers attached to the 1st MAW battle colors are a testament to the organization’s engagement in over seventeen years of combat on many battlefields, and the tenacity of its Marines and Sailors. 1st MAW boasts a broad spectrum of aircraft and equipment that can be configured for any mission requirement or task. We build airfields where none exist; we fly assault and support missions regardless of time or weather; and we control the skies in every clime and place to which we deploy. All our personnel are highly trained, motivated and committed to maintaining the “Tip of the Spear” in Marine aviation. We are the powerful right arm of the MEF.
National Guard
http://www.ng.mil/default.aspx
The National Guard, the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and one of the nation’s longest-enduring institutions, will celebrate its 375th birthday on December 13, 2006. The National Guard traces its history back to the earliest English colonies in North America. Responsible for their own defense, the colonists drew on English military tradition and organized their able-bodied male citizens into militias.
The colonial militias protected their fellow citizens from Indian attack, foreign invaders, and later helped to win the Revolutionary War. Following independence, the authors of the Constitution empowered Congress to “provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia.” However, recognizing the militia’s state role, the Founding Fathers reserved the appointment of officers and training of the militia to the states. Today’s National Guard still remains a dual state-Federal force.
Throughout the 19th century the size of the Regular Army was small, and the militia provided the bulk of the troops during the Mexican War, the early months of the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. In 1903, important national defense legislation increased the role of the National Guard (as the militia was now called) as a Reserve force for the U.S. Army. In World War I, which the U.S. entered in 1917, the National Guard made up 40% of the U.S. combat divisions in France; in World War II, National Guard units were among the first to deploy overseas and the first to fight. 
Following World War II, National Guard aviation units, some of them dating back to World War I, became the Air National Guard, the nation’s newest Reserve component. The Guard stood on the frontiers of freedom during the Cold War, sending soldiers and airmen to fight in Korea and to reinforce NATO during the Berlin crisis of 1961-1962. During the Vietnam war, almost 23,000 Army and Air Guardsmen were called up for a year of active duty; some 8,700 were deployed to Vietnam. Over 75,000 Army and Air Guardsmen were called upon to help bring a swift end to Desert Storm in 1991.
Since that time, the National Guard has seen the nature of its Federal mission change, with more frequent call ups in response to crises in Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and the skies over Iraq. Most recently, following the attacks of September 11, 2001, more than 50,000 Guardmembers were called up by both their States and the Federal government to provide security at home and combat terrorism abroad. In the largest and swiftest response to a domestic disaster in history, the Guard deployed more than 50,000 troops in support of the Gulf States following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Today, tens of thousands of Guardmembers are serving in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the National Guard continues its historic dual mission, providing to the states units trained and equipped to protect life and property, while providing to the nation units trained, equipped and ready to defend the United States and its interests, all over the globe.
Navy
http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp
Throughout its history, the United States has had a navy for all but nine years. While historically there has been a broad consensus in the country to support a navy, the type and size of the naval service the nation required has often been the subject of contention. As early as 1775, Americans debated what have come to be termed “roles and missions.” What role was a navy to play within a national scheme of defense? What missions would naval forces be called upon to conduct in support of American interests?
