Military of the United States Facts for Kids

United States Armed Forces
Military manpower
Military age	17–45 years old
Availability	Males & Females ages 17–49: 109,305,756 (2005 est.).
Citizenship	Regular Army: No Citizenship Requirement For Enlisted Members / All Officers must be US Citizens. National Guard: Citizens Only.
Reaching military age annually	Males & Females: 4,180,074 (2005 est.)
Total armed forces	2,685,713 (Ranked 2nd)
Active troops	1,426,713 (Ranked 2nd)
Total troops	2,685,713 (Ranked 7th)
Military expenditures
Dollar figure	$441.6 billion (Ranked 1st.)
Percent of GDP	3.7% (FY2006 est.) (Ranked 26th)
Dollar Figure (per citizen)	$935.64($1470) (ranked 3rd)

The military of the United States, officially known as the United States Armed Forces, is made of:

United States Joint Service Color Guard on parade at Fort Myer

The President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. All branches except the Coast Guard are part of the Department of Defense, which is controlled by the Secretary of Defense. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security. The Marine Corps is part of the Navy.

About 1.4 million people are currently on active duty in the military with another 1,259,000 people on reserve (with 456,000 people in the Army and Air National Guard). There is currently no conscription. Women can serve in most combat positions, and in all non-combat military jobs. Because of war, some of these non-combat jobs actually see combat regularly.

Ranks
Branches of the Military
Images for kids
See also

Ranks

All the branches of the US military have both Officers and Enlisted. Most Enlisted people with a rank of E-4 and above are called Non-commissioned Officers (NCOs); the exception is the Air Force where E-5 is considered the first NCO rank. Their usual duties are to supervise or make sure that common jobs are done properly every day. Most branches also includes Warrant Officers (Chief Warrant Officers in the Navy.) They are considered experts in their field, they are higher rank than other enlisted troops, but below officers. There are four ranks of Warrant Officers: WO-1 through WO-4 (CWO-1 to CWO-4)

Here are some common ranks for the US Army, Air Force and Marines. These branches of the military use different names for the enlisted ranks, but they all use the same for officers. The Navy and the Coast Guard have different ranks; for those see United States Navy.

Rank

Army

Marines

Air Force

Enlisted Ranks

E-1

Private

Airman Basic

E-2

Private

Private First Class

Airman

E-3

Private First Class

Lance Corporal

Airman First Class

E-4

Corporal
Specialist 4

Corporal

Senior Airman

E-5

Sergeant

Staff Sergeant

E-6

Staff Sergeant

Technical Sergeant

E-7

Sergeant First Class

Gunnery Sergeant

Master Sergeant

E-8

Master Sergeant
First Sergeant

Senior Master Sergeant

E-9

Sergeant Major

Sergeant Major
Master Gunnery Sergeant

Chief Master Sergeant

E-9*

Sergeant Major of the
Marine Corps|Chief Master Sergeant
of the Air Force|}

*Each branch of the military has only one of these specific E-9 grade enlisted personnel and are considered the senior enlisted person of their branch. The Sergeant Major of the Army, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force are the spokespersons of the enlisted force at the highest levels of their services.

Rank	Title
Army, Marines, and Air Force Officer Ranks		Navy Officer Ranks
O-1	Second Lieutenant	Ensign
O-2	First Lieutenant	Lieutenant Junior Grade
O-3	Captain	Lieutenant
O-4	Major	Lieutenant Commander
O-5	Lieutenant Colonel	Commander
O-6	Colonel	Captain
O-7	Brigadier General	Rear Admiral (Lower Half)
O-8	Major General	Rear Admiral
O-9	Lieutenant General	Vice Admiral
O-10	General	Admiral

Branches of the Military

As noted above there are several different branches of the US Military. Each Branch has a different function [Land; Sea or Air]
U.S. Army

Distinctive Unit Insignia: 181st Inf
Distinctive Unit Insignia: 182nd Inf

Images for kids

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in December 2020.
Organization of the military services and military departments within the Department of Defense
U.S. Army Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division return fire during a firefight with Taliban forces in Barawala Kalay Valley in Kunar province, Afghanistan on 31 March 2011.
U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams tanks from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment maneuver in the streets as they conduct a combat patrol in the city of Tall Afar, Iraq, on Feb. 3, 2005.
U.S. Marines with India Company, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit run on the beach during an amphibious assault demonstration.
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft attached to VMX-22 prepares to land on the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) in the Pacific Ocean.
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) and Carrier Strike Group 3 underway with Republic of Korea Navy ships.
F-22A Raptors in flight.
U.S. Air Force B-2A Spirit stealth bombers flying with Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters.
The Sodium Guidestar at the Directed Energy Directorate's Starfire Optical Range for real-time, high-fidelity tracking and imaging of satellites.
Boeing X-37B spaceplane after deorbiting and landing.
USCGC Hamilton and TCG Turgutries in the Black Sea, April 30, 2021.
Coast Guard Reserve Port Security boat on patrol
Unified combatant commands areas of responsibility
Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, awarded the Silver Star for direct combat
ADM Linda L. Fagan June 2021.
The United States Coast Guard Academy commissions officers into the United States Coast Guard.

Military of the United States facts for kids

Contents

Ranks

Branches of the Military

Images for kids

See also