Uniformed services of the United States

Uniformed services of the United States
The emblems of the eight U.S. uniformed services
Founded	14 June 1775; 246 years ago (1775-06-14)[a]
Service branches	U.S. Army  U.S. Marine Corps  U.S. Navy  U.S. Air Force  U.S. Space Force  U.S. Coast Guard U.S. PHS Commissioned Corps NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
Leadership
President	Joe Biden
Federal department heads	Lloyd Austin (DoD) Alejandro Mayorkas (DHS) Xavier Becerra (HHS) Gina Raimondo (DOC)
Manpower
Military age	17 with parental consent, 18 for voluntary service.[b]
Conscription	Male only (inactive since 1973)
Available for military service	17 million[4], age 18–25 (2016)
Reaching military age annually	2 million[5] (2016)
Active personnel	1,374,125[6] (ranked 3rd)
Reserve personnel	849,450[7]
Deployed personnel	170,000
Expenditures
Budget	US$721.5 billion (2020)[8] (ranked 1st)
Percent of GDP	3.42% (2019)[9]
Industry
Domestic suppliers	List
Related articles
History	Military history of the United States show List of engagements American Revolutionary War Whiskey Rebellion Indian Wars Barbary Wars War of 1812 Patriot War Mexican–American War Utah War Cortina Troubles Reform War American Civil War New York City draft riots Las Cuevas War Spanish–American War Banana Wars Philippine–American War Boxer Rebellion Border War World War I Russian Civil War World War II Cold War Puerto Rican Nationalist Revolts Korean War 1958 Lebanon crisis Dominican Civil War Bay of Pigs Invasion Cuban Missile Crisis Vietnam War Korean DMZ Conflict Operation Eagle Claw Multinational Force Lebanon Invasion of Grenada Operation Golden Pheasant Invasion of Panama Persian Gulf War Somali Civil War Operation Gothic Serpent Battle of Mogadishu Bosnian War Operation Deliberate Force Operation Deny Flight Kosovo War Operation Allied Force Global War on Terrorism Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan Philippines Horn of Africa Trans Sahara Iraq War Intervention against ISIL War in North-West Pakistan Military deployment after Hurricane Katrina Pakistan–United States skirmishes Other
Ranks	Commissioned officer Army officer Marine Corps officer Navy officer Air Force officer Space Force officer Coast Guard officer Public Health Service officer NOAA Corps officer Warrant officer Army warrant officer Marine Corps warrant officer Navy warrant officer Coast Guard warrant officer Enlisted Army enlisted Marine Corps enlisted Navy enlisted Air Force enlisted Space Force enlisted Coast Guard enlisted

The United States has eight federal uniformed services that commission officers as defined by Title 10 and subsequently structured and organized by Title 10, Title 14, Title 32 and Title 42 of the U.S. Code.

Uniformed services[]

The uniformed services are, in order of precedence, when in formations:^[10][11]

1. United States Army
2. United States Marine Corps
3. United States Navy
4. United States Air Force
5. United States Space Force
6. United States Coast Guard
7. United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
8. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps

Each of the uniformed services is administratively headed by a federal executive department and its corresponding civilian Cabinet leader.

Federal executive departments[]

United States Department of Defense (DoD)[]

Department of the Army (DA)

• United States Army (USA): 14 June 1775

Department of the Navy (DON)

• United States Marine Corps (USMC): 10 November 1775
• United States Navy (USN): 13 October 1775

Department of the Air Force (DAF)

• United States Air Force (USAF): 18 September 1947
• United States Space Force (USSF): 20 December 2019

The order of precedence within the U.S. Department of Defense is set by DoD Directive 1005.8 and is not dependent on the date of creation by the U.S. Congress.

United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)[]

• United States Coast Guard (USCG): 4 August 1790

Prior to 1967, the U.S. Coast Guard was a part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In 1967 it became a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 2002, it was placed under the Department of Homeland Security. During times of war, it may be transferred to the Department of the Navy, under the Department of Defense.

United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)[]

• United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC): 4 January 1889

The Corps is headed by the Surgeon General of the United States.

United States Department of Commerce (DOC)[]

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps): 22 May 1917.

The NOAA Corps was created as the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, a component of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, on 22 May 1917. It was removed from the Coast and Geodetic Survey and became a component of the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) as the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (ESSA Corps) upon the establishment of ESSA on 13 July 1965. The ESSA Corps became the NOAA Corps as a component of NOAA when ESSA was abolished and NOAA simultaneously was created on 3 October 1970. Under all three names, the Corps has been an element of the Department of Commerce throughout its existence.

Statutory definition[]

The eight uniformed services are defined by 10 U.S.C. § 101(a)(5):

The term "uniformed services" means—
(A) the armed forces;
(B) the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
(C) the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service.

The six uniformed services that make up the United States Armed Forces are defined in the previous clause 10 U.S.C. § 101(a)(4):

The term "armed forces" means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard.

All eight uniformed services are subject to the provisions of 10 USC 1408, the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA).^[12]

U.S. Armed Forces[]

Six of the uniformed services make up the U.S. Armed Forces, five of which are within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security and has both military and law enforcement duties. Title 14 states that the Coast Guard is part of the armed forces at all times, making it the only branch of the military outside the Department of Defense. During a declared state of war, however, the President or Congress may direct that the Coast Guard operate as part of the Department of the Navy.^[13] The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, along with the NOAA Commissioned Corps, operate under military rules with the exception of the applicability of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to which they are subject only when militarized by executive order or while detailed to any component of the armed forces.^[14]

Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are all members of the military who serve in a reserve capacity. The National Guard is an additional reserve military component of the Army and Air Force, respectively, and is composed of National Guard units, which operate under Title 32 and under state authority as the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The militia that later became the National Guard was first formed in the Colony of Virginia in 1607 and is the oldest uniformed military force founded in the New World. The National Guard can also be mobilized by the President to operate under Federal authority through Title 10. When acting under federal direction, the National Guard is managed by the National Guard Bureau, which is a joint Army and Air Force activity under the Department of Defense,^[15][16][17] with a 4-star general^[15][16] from the Army or Air Force appointed as its top leader. However, in Federal service command and control of National Guard organizations will fall under the designated Geographic or Functional Combatant Commander. The National Guard of the United States serves as a reserve component for both the Army and the Air Force and can be called up for federal active duty in times of war or national emergencies.^[15][16]

Non-armed uniformed services[]

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps) is a uniformed branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is under the Department of Commerce.
• The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) is the uniformed personnel system of the United States Public Health Service, which is under the Department of Health and Human Services.

Commissioned officers of NOAA and PHS wear uniforms that are derived from U.S. Navy and Coast Guard uniforms, except that the commissioning devices, buttons, and insignia reflect their specific service. Uniformed officers of NOAA and PHS are paid on the same scale as members of the armed services with respective rank and time-in-grade. Additionally, PHS Officers are covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (formerly the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act).

PHS and NOAA consist of commissioned officers only and have no warrant officer ranks or enlisted ranks. Commissioned officers of the PHS and NOAA may be militarized by the President.^[18] Because they are commissioned officers, they can be classified as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions, if captured by a belligerent entity. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), a predecessor to NOAA, originally began commissioning its officers so that if captured while engaged in battlefield surveying, they would be protected under the Law of Armed Conflict and could not be tried or executed as spies. The USC&GS Commissioned Officer Corps became the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (ESSA Corps), upon the creation of the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) on 13 July 1965, then became the NOAA Corps upon the creation of NOAA on 3 October 1970. The PHS traces its origins to a system of marine hospitals created by "An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen", passed by Congress in 1798; it adopted a military model of organization in 1871.^[19][20]

See also[]

• United States Merchant Marine
• Merchant Marine Reserve
• United States Maritime Service
• Civil Air Patrol
• United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
• State Defense Forces
• Military badges of the United States

References[]

Informational notes

Citations