Continental Armed Forces

The United States is considered as one of the most powerful nations in the world. This status can be attributed to its continuous thriving in aspects of economy, governance, health care, and defense. The armed forces of this country are composed of proud men and women who are able and willing to offer protection to their beloved motherland at all times. Let’s take a bit of time and identify one of its major services, the US Army.

The United States Army is the branch of the US armed forces that is mainly tasked to overlook all the affairs surrounding land-based military endeavors. It is identified as the oldest and largest division of the US forces and is part of seven groups that offer uniformed services. The current generation of the Army is a descendant of the Continental Army which was established on June 14, 1775 in order to resolve the conflicts brought about by the Revolutionary War. At the conclusion of the war, the Congress paved the way for the transformation of the disbanded Continental Army into the US Army in June 14, 1784. Since the present Army generation traces its roots on the Continental Army its date of inception is patterned on the date on which the latter was founded.

The Army was established in order to provide the needed forces and capabilities as supplement to the National Security and Defense Strategies. The control and operation of this organization is facilitated by the Department of the Army which is one of the three service departments composing the Department of Defense. The civilian authority is called as the Secretary of the Army while the highest ranking military official in the department is designated as the Chief of Staff unless the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is an officer in the Army.

Basically, the US Army is composed of three vital components such as the active component, the Regular Army, and two reserve components. The pair of reserves is the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. These reserve components are made up of part-time soldiers who engage in training once per month under a program known as the Battle Assembly or Unit Training Assemblies or UTAs. They also perform annual trainings twice or thrice with a year.

The Regular Army and the Army Reserve are both maintained under Title 10 of the United States Code while the National Guard is maintained under Title 32. Despite being trained, facilitated, and equipped as an important element of the US Army, the Army National Guard is under the authority of the individual state and territorial governors, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia specifically when it is not called on for federal service. However, there are instances when the National Guard can have federal influences and status upon the order to president even if it is against the wishes of the governor.

When the Goldwater-Nichols Act was mandated in 1986, the operational control of this service was directed to follow a chain of command from the President to the Secretary of Defense and then to the Unified Combatant Commanders who have authority over all units within the function area. In this way, the Chief of Staff for each service has the responsibility to train and facilitate his own service component.

It is significant that the armed forces maintain harmony and safety within land areas since these are the immediate locations in which a lot of people are situated.