Army, United States, 
The Army is often called upon to help in disasters such as epidemics, floods, forest fires, and storms. In addition, the Army constructs and operates a large number of public works, including flood control projects. It also improves inland waterways and harbors.
The Army is the oldest branch of the armed services in the United States. It dates back to June 14, 1775, when the Continental Congress created the Continental Army. Army history includes the deeds of such military leaders as George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, John J. Pershing, George C. Marshall, and Douglas MacArthur, as well as the heroism of countless soldiers. It is also a story of changes brought about by science, inventions, and discoveries. Its weapons have grown from muzzle-loading muskets to nuclear blasts delivered by guns and missiles. Army transport has changed from horses and wagons to trucks and aircraft. The radio, telegraph, and television revolutionized communications. The use of aircraft and airborne troops added new strength on the battlefield.
The U.S. Army operates under the Department of Defense. Army strength may vary according to the nation’s worldwide and domestic needs. Today, the Army has about 482,000 men and women on active duty throughout the world.
About 522,000 people serve in the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard. About 260,000 U.S. citizens serve as civilian employees in the U.S. Army.
The official Army flag colors are blue, white, and red, with yellow fringes. The flag carries about 190 streamers. Each streamer represents a battle or campaign fought by the Army.
In all wars that have involved the United States, about 500,000 soldiers have died in battle. About 1,400,000 soldiers have been wounded in battle.
Life in the Army
People in the Army perform many different duties. Enlisted soldiers form the main fighting force of the Army. They take orders from officers. The leaders of the Army are commissioned officers.
Training a soldier.
After entering the Army, trainees undergo basic training at an Army training center. They learn such fundamental military skills as marksmanship, drill and ceremony, first aid, and land navigation. Trainees also undergo intensive physical training and are taught to act as part of a disciplined team.
After basic training, most soldiers attend a school to learn the techniques of the military occupational specialty (line of work) that they agreed to perform when they enlisted. These schools are located on military posts throughout the country. In school, soldiers may learn to repair a truck, rifle, or missile. They may learn to program a computer or to be a military police officer. Some schools require only a few weeks of training. Other schools give technical training that requires several months.
Soldiers may become eligible for other schools throughout their term of service. Noncommissioned officers (corporals and sergeants) who are making a career of Army service receive continued training through a special educational system.
Training an officer.
To become a United States Army officer, men and women may follow one of several paths: (1) the United States Military Academy at West Point, (2) Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at many universities and colleges, (3) officer candidate schools conducted by the United States Army and by state national guards, and (4) direct commissions to civilians with special skills in such professions as law and medicine.
All Army officers receive basic and advanced training in their assigned branches. The United States Army Command and General Staff College, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, teaches officers how to use the various units of the Army as a team. The United States Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, prepares officers for senior command and staff positions.
Warrant officers rank higher than noncommissioned officers and lower than commissioned officers. They work in such specialized fields as data processing, electronics, and law enforcement. Many warrant officers are former enlisted men and women who became experts in their specialty and applied for a warrant from the secretary of the Army.
A typical day
for soldiers depends on their assignments. Soldiers assigned to a unit develop the skills that they learned in basic and advanced training. They train with their unit and function as team members. They may participate in a sports program and use educational facilities provided by the Army. The squad leader, a noncommissioned officer, guides soldiers in their normal routine. The food service manager supervises the dining facility. The supply sergeant cares for and issues clothing and equipment. The unit commander is responsible for formulating and supervising unit training.
The normal daily routine begins early on weekdays and ends by 5 p.m. Soldiers’ evenings and weekends are their own, except when they are on field-training exercises. During these exercises, or “practice wars,” soldiers sometimes cannot eat a normal meal because of maneuver requirements. Then they receive packages of ready-to-eat food that provides the nourishment they need in easy-to-carry form.
Careers in the Army
offer job security and opportunities for travel to many parts of the world. But soldiers must make sacrifices, because they must go wherever the Army assigns them. The Army has hundreds of jobs that require special skill or experience. A man or woman who enlists has a choice of careers, and can often use skill or training gained in civilian life. Professional men and women, such as doctors and lawyers, may receive direct commissions. Soldiers who have leadership abilities usually become noncommissioned officers. Soldiers who demonstrate high technical ability may become warrant officers. Army training often prepares a person for a civilian job later.
Applicants for enlistment must be at least 17 years of age and younger than 42. In addition, applicants must be able to pass the Army’s physical examination and written examinations. Enlistments range from 15 months to 6 years.
Enlisted personnel receive pay increases with each promotion, and extra pay according to longevity (length of service). They also receive extra pay for some overseas duty. The Army pays extra amounts for quarters (housing) and subsistence (food). Soldiers earn 30 days’ leave (vacation) every year. They also are entitled to free medical care. In certain areas overseas, soldiers receive station allowances to cover the increased cost of living. The Army also grants extra pay to various specialists and to soldiers who serve in combat or perform hazardous duty, such as demolition work. Army personnel may retire with half pay after 20 years’ service, or with higher pay for longer service.
In 2013, the Defense Department announced that it would no longer ban women from serving in direct combat. The announcement reversed a 1994 rule officially banning women from serving in such units and positions as infantry, artillery, and armor. Many women had fought in combat despite the official ban.
Weapons and equipment of the Army
Combat units of the Army consist of soldiers trained and equipped to fight enemy forces. Infantry, artillery, armored units, Army aviation, and various specialized units are called the combat arms because they do the direct fighting. Other units, called the combat support and combat service support, aid the combat arms.
Infantry
is the Army’s largest arm. Infantrymen must seize, occupy, and defend land areas. They bear the heaviest share of close combat. Infantrymen throw grenades and fire rifles, machine guns, mortars, pistols, and various types of rockets and missiles. They enter battle on foot or by helicopter, parachute, or infantry fighting vehicle.
Artillery
provides the firepower necessary for a heavy and successful attack by infantry or armored units. It protects troops holding defensive positions, and can neutralize enemy fire.
Artillery travels by heavy trucks, helicopters, or other means. Its weapons include the Army’s heaviest howitzers and guns. The highly mobile howitzers can fire to a maximum range of about 181/2 miles (30 kilometers). Certain rocket-fired weapons have an even greater range. See Artillery.
Armor
in the Army usually means tanks and other armored vehicles. The Army uses M-1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks. The M-1 tank has a 120-millimeter gun. The Army’s armored units can move swiftly and advance deep into enemy territory. They also have strong firepower. See Tank.
Army aviation
bolsters the Army’s battlefield mobility. Army aircraft can spot enemy targets for artillery units. They provide rapid transportation to and from the front lines. They lay communication wires and take aerial photographs. In addition, Army aircraft transport troops and supplies, and rush wounded soldiers to hospitals that are located in the rear areas.
Army aviators fly airplanes and helicopters. Airplanes are used for surveillance, observation, and command transport. Helicopters are classified as scout, utility, lift, or attack types. Attack helicopters are more mobile than airplanes and can rapidly attack targets throughout an area of operations.
The Army classifies its aircraft by letters and numbers. For example, the UH-60 is a utility aircraft (U) and a helicopter (H). Other symbols used to indicate the type or purpose of the aircraft include: A, attack; C, cargo transport; O, observation; and V, short take-off and landing. The Army traditionally names its aircraft after Indigenous (native) American tribes.
Loading the player...U.S. military's V-22 Osprey aircraft
Special units.
The Army has several kinds of specialized units. These units include Special Forces and Rangers.
Special Forces,
popularly known as Green Berets, are trained in various specialized operations. An important peacetime activity is helping other governments train forces that can oppose guerrillas and other rebel groups. Special forces are also trained to take part in raiding operations, antiterrorist actions, and reconnaissance (information gathering).
Special Forces personnel are organized into groups. Each group has responsibility for a specific region of the world. The group’s members learn about the languages, customs, and cultures of the region. This training equips them to operate deep behind enemy lines.
Rangers
are specialized units that can move quickly to any area of the world and that are prepared to strike by land, sea, or air. Ranger units are trained to make surprise raids behind enemy lines and to participate in other similarly daring operations. The Army has three Ranger Battalions.
Missiles.
The Army’s arsenal includes both free rockets and guided missiles. Rockets provide fire support for troops on the battlefield. Some rockets can be equipped with nuclear warheads. Guided missiles may be fired from ground to ground in support of troops. The same missiles also can be fired from ground to air to destroy enemy aircraft. The guidance and control systems of the Army’s air defense guided missiles, such as the Patriot and the Avenger, enable these missiles to track down and destroy enemy aircraft. See Guided missile; Rocket.
Communications and observation.
Various types of electronic equipment are used to send and receive messages. Electronic “eyes and ears” enable the Army to survey the battlefield day and night in all kinds of weather. The Army uses portable radar sets to detect troop movements in darkness. Remote-controlled drone aircraft carry cameras, infrared devices, and radar to spot enemy positions. Computers prepare weather reports, using information sent from balloon-borne instruments.
Transportation
by various types of vehicles gives the Army mobility. These include passenger and cargo vehicles, helicopters, rail equipment, watercraft, amphibious vehicles, and air cushion vehicles.
Engineers
of the Army build bridges, repair roads, and construct landing strips, mine fields, and fortifications. These units must often work under direct enemy fire. Their equipment includes bulldozers, mine-clearing vehicles, and a scissors-type bridge, which is pushed into place by a tank or other tracked vehicle and extended to cross a stream or ravine. To cross rivers, the engineers also use floating bridges, inflatable assault boats, and aluminum rafts.
Equipment can be delivered to Army engineers by aircraft, or it can be dropped by parachute. Air-dropped equipment includes cranes, tractors, air compressors, and dump trucks.
Logistic units
package and move supplies by air, bulk containers, and pipelines. To save time, food for combat troops is prepackaged in individual ready-to-eat servings. Special clothing developed by the Army includes protective armored vests, rubber-coated fabric clothing for handlers of missile fuels, and cold-weather clothing and boots for arctic wear. Soldiers also have special uniforms for use in desert and jungle regions.
Chemical equipment provides defense against chemical agents (gas), biological agents (germs), and the effects of radiation. Other chemical equipment includes smoke-generating devices to conceal troop movements and flame throwers to attack fortifications. Special chemical instruments detect contamination. The Army uses such equipment as protective gas masks, airtight clothing, and first-aid kits to counteract the effects of chemical, biological, or radiological warfare.
Organization of the Army
In peacetime, the U.S. Army is made up of men and women who have volunteered for service in the Regular Army, the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard. Regular Army personnel are professional soldiers and are always on active duty. The Army Reserve and National Guard consist of citizens who are trained to conduct active duty tasks and missions. Except during training, or during emergency or wartime activation, most members of these reserve forces remain on inactive duty. The president may call to active duty members of the Army Reserve and the National Guard. State governors may call to active duty members of the National Guard.
The United States Army operates under the Department of the Army, which is a part of the Department of Defense. The Army consists of Department of the Army headquarters, Army commands, Army service component commands, and direct reporting units.
Army Department headquarters
are in Washington, D.C. The secretary of the Army, a civilian appointed by the president, heads the Army organization. The chief of staff of the U.S. Army serves as the principal military adviser to the secretary. The Army chief of staff also represents the Army on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Army headquarters include the Army secretariat and the Army staff. The secretariat consists of agencies that report directly to the secretary of the Army. The Army staff consists of agencies that report to the secretary of the Army through the chief of staff. The secretariat and the Army staff provide professional advice and administrative and technical assistance to the Office of the Secretary of the Army. See Army, Department of the; Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Army commands.
Units that are designated simply as Army commands have a global role and a variety of different functions. The U.S. Army Forces Command, with headquarters at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, is responsible for the combat readiness of the Army’s active and reserve forces. The command trains, mobilizes, and deploys forces to wherever they are needed in the world. Forces Command executes its responsibilities for the Army Reserve and National Guard through the First U.S. Army, headquartered at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois.
The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, with headquarters at Fort Eustis, Virginia, controls all Army individual schooling and training. It sets the Army’s standards and requirements. The command also manages the Army ROTC program. In addition, it develops plans for organizing Army forces and assists in the development of combat equipment.
The U.S. Army Materiel Command has headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. It is responsible for the development, procurement, delivery, supply, and maintenance of equipment, supplies, and weapons for the Army.
The U.S. Army Futures Command is headquartered in Austin Texas. The command is responsible for modernizing the Army so that future soldiers will have the weapons and organization needed to win future battles.
Army service component commands
The Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, handles land transportation of military cargo and personnel. It also operates ocean terminals to move military cargo. It is part of the U.S. Transportation Command, which provides air, land, and sea transportation for the armed forces. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command has headquarters at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. It is part of the U.S. Strategic Command, which coordinates the military’s space operations, missile defense, information and intelligence activities, and strategic deterrence. The U.S. Army Cyber Command, headquartered at Fort Eisenhower, Georgia, conducts cyberwarfare. Cyberwarfare involves computer-based attacks against a country’s computer networks, causing damage or disruption. The command defends Army networks from cyber threats and fights adversaries through cyberspace.
Other Army service component commands are part of regional unified commands, which coordinate the activities of U.S. armed forces in a specified region of the world. United States Army Europe and Africa is part of both the U.S. European Command and the U.S. African Command. The U.S. European Command covers Europe, Russia, and part of southwest Asia, including Israel and Turkey. The U.S. Africa Command covers most of Africa. United States Army Central is part of the U.S. Central Command, which covers most of southwest and central Asia and northeast Africa. This region includes the Middle East—with the exceptions of Turkey and Israel—as well as such countries as Afghanistan and Pakistan. United States Army North is part of the U.S. Northern Command, which covers most of North America. United States Army South is part of the U.S. Southern Command, which covers Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. United States Army Pacific is part of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which covers eastern and southern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. The Eighth U.S. Army is part of U.S. Forces Korea, which is a subordinate command of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
United States Army Europe and Africa has headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany. United States Army Central, also called the Third U.S. Army, has headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. United States Army North, also called the Fifth U.S. Army, and United States Army South both have headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. United States Army Pacific has headquarters at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. The Eighth U.S. Army has headquarters near Seoul, South Korea.
Direct reporting units
provide institutional support and normally have a single, unique function. These units, and their headquarters, include (1) the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center, Fort Belvoir; (2) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C.; (3) the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command of Quantico, Virginia; (4) the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox; (5) the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Belvoir; (6) the U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston; (7) the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, D.C.; (8) the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; (9) the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and (10) the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. See Engineers, Corps of; United States Military Academy.
History
The Continental Army,
which grew into the United States Army, had its beginning even before the Revolutionary War. All 13 English colonies had militia that fought in the French and Indian wars. Each colony except Pennsylvania had a standing militia which able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to join. In addition, every colony had a volunteer militia. These forces, along with troops who were recruited by the British as regulars, fought in the French and Indian War (1754-1763).
Loading the player...Washington, the first President of the United States of America
On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress voted to raise 10 companies of riflemen for service in the Revolutionary War and to take charge of colonial militias that were then besieging the British in Boston. The next day, the Congress appointed George Washington “general and commander in chief” of the Continental Army.
In 1776, the Continental Congress established a Board of War and Ordnance to administer the Army. It abolished the board in 1781, and assigned its duties to a secretary at war, who directed the Army and Navy. The United States Congress set up a Department of War in 1789.
The Army probably never had more than 30,000 men at any time. But by the late 1780’s, the regular forces had been cut to about 800 men. In 1802, Congress set up the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, the nation’s first military school.
The War of 1812 (1812-1815).
The United States had an army of nearly 12,000 men when it went to war against the United Kingdom in 1812. This force reached a peak strength of 38,000 men. Artillery units made important contributions to American victories. Military leaders who won fame in the war included Jacob Brown, Andrew Jackson, and Winfield Scott.
At various times after the war, Congress authorized an army of 6,000 to 12,000 men. The government used this army to fight two wars against the Seminole and the Black Hawk War against the Sauk and Fox people. The Army also forced the Cherokee to move to lands west of the Mississippi River.
The Mexican War (1846-1848)
was chiefly a ground war. About two-thirds of the soldiers were members of militia and volunteer units. The Army had to rely mainly on regular army soldiers and 12-month volunteers because of the continual turnover of short-term militiamen. About 104,000 men served during the war, which saw a number of Army “firsts.” For the first time, the Army fought far beyond the frontiers of the United States. It used steam vessels as troop transports. American soldiers fought in unaccustomed climate and terrain, and in combat in the streets of Monterrey. Also for the first time, the Army administered a military government over a conquered area.
The American Civil War (1861-1865).
The United States adopted its first federal military draft law during the Civil War. Both the North and the South called for volunteers, but not enough men enlisted. On March 3, 1863, Congress passed the Enrollment Act. This law required all men in the North between the ages of 20 and 45 to register for military service.
The Union Army had about 16,000 men under arms in 1860 and reached a peak strength of about 1 million in 1865. Ulysses S. Grant, the Union commander, later became the first person to hold the rank of General of the Army. During the war, the Union Army made wide use of railroads, telegraph, photography, observation balloons, and rifled artillery.
Within 10 years after the Civil War, the Army had been reduced to about 25,000 men. Its soldiers were toughened by years of so-called Indian fighting. However, few had experience handling problems of war mobilization and large-scale command.
The Spanish-American War (1898).
The Regular Army had only 28,000 men when war broke out with Spain. The National Guard numbered about 100,000. Congress authorized a twofold increase in the size of the Army, and an initial enlistment of 125,000 volunteers. As the war progressed, inadequacies in Army organization and preparedness became apparent. The problems of supply, health, and sanitation in the tropics were as dangerous as the Spanish troops in Cuba and the Philippines. More soldiers died from disease than were killed in battle.
After the war, the Army helped establish American authority in the Philippines. It also fought in the Boxer Rebellion in China (see Boxer Rebellion).
The early 1900’s
were a period of reorganization for the Army. Through the efforts of Secretary of War Elihu Root, Congress approved the adoption of the general staff system and the appointment of a chief of staff to replace the commanding general of the Army. On Aug. 15, 1903, Lieutenant General Samuel B. M. Young became the first chief of staff.
On Aug. 1, 1907, the Army set up an aeronautical division within its signal corps. This force of one officer and two enlisted men slowly grew until it became an independent military service 40 years later (see Air Force, United States).
World War I (1914-1918).
The United States had a Regular Army of only 128,000 men when it declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. But the National Guard had developed into a military organization far superior to the state militias of earlier wars. However, with the need for a larger army, Congress passed a Selective Service Act that made all able-bodied men between the ages of 21 and 30 (later, 18 and 45) subject to military service. The government sent nearly 2 million soldiers overseas in the American Expeditionary Forces. By the summer of 1918, American manpower and arms had helped turn the tide of battle in favor of the Allies. General John J. Pershing commanded the American doughboys who fought in France. The Meuse-Argonne offensive marked the Army’s largest battle up to that time. But, with the signing of the armistice in 1918, the Army again faced a cutback in strength. Within two years, it had been reduced to about 204,000 men, and it was reduced to even fewer in the following postwar years.
After World War I, U.S. Army troops came to the aid of anti-Communist forces in the Russian civil war. However, they accomplished little and soon were brought home.
World War II (1939-1945)
witnessed the mobilization of the largest American army ever to take the field. The Army expanded from about 190,000 men in 1939 to almost 8,270,000 in 1945. The Selective Service Act of 1940 required all male citizens age 21 through 35 to register for a year of military service. Later amendments to the law extended the age limits to 18 and 44 and increased the length of service to the duration of the war. The first drafted men entered the Army on Nov. 18, 1940. The Army multiplied its units by means of the cadre system. A certain number of key men were removed from a unit as it became ready for service. This group of men, or cadre, formed the basis of new units.
General George C. Marshall became Army chief of staff on Sept. 1, 1939, the day that Germany attacked Poland. Japan’s attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, plunged the United States into war.
Loading the player...Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Army underwent several reorganizations during World War II to cope with the complexities of fighting on many battlefronts. Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair became commander of U.S. Army Ground Forces. General Henry H. Arnold commanded the Army Air Forces.
The Army took part in the largest amphibious attack in history when the Allies landed in Normandy, France, in 1944. It organized airborne divisions that added a new dimension to warfare (see Airborne troops). Its engineers cooperated with civilian scientists to develop the atomic bomb (see Nuclear weapon).
In May 1942, the Army established the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). In 1943, the WAAC became a part of the United States Army, and the name was changed to Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Women in the Army became known as Wacs. More than 17,000 Wacs served overseas during the war. In 1945, the last year of the war, the WAC reached a peak strength of about 100,000 enlisted women and officers. The WAC was dissolved in 1978.
Loading the player...The air war during World War II
At the end of the war, the Army faced the huge problem of demobilization (releasing millions of soldiers from active duty). By 1948, it had about 554,000 soldiers. The government discontinued the draft in 1947, but resumed it in 1948.
The Korean War (1950-1953).
In response to a United Nations (UN) request, President Harry S. Truman in June 1950 ordered U.S. Army troops on occupation duty in Japan to aid South Korea. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur headed the UN Command in Korea. Generals Matthew B. Ridgway and Mark W. Clark later succeeded MacArthur.
During the war, the Army gained considerable experience in training and outfitting troops of many nationalities. The Army, which had 593,000 soldiers before war broke out, had 1,596,000 by June 1952. But its strength was less than 1 million by June 1957.
The atomic age Army.
In 1953, the first atomic artillery shell was fired in a test at Frenchman Flat, Nevada.
In the early 1960’s, the Army completed several reorganizations. For example, it completed a plan called Reorganization Objectives, Army Division (ROAD) to increase the flexibility of its fighting forces in limited wars. In 1962, the reorganization added a mechanized division to the three existing types: infantry, airborne, and armored.
In 1965, the Army added an airmobile division. This division was to use helicopters and airplanes to support its ground units in combat.
The Vietnam War (1957-1975).
United States involvement in the struggle to prevent Communist forces from taking control of South Vietnam began in the mid-1950’s. At first, the Army contributed only advisers to South Vietnamese government forces. But by 1965, the U.S. commitment to South Vietnam had grown, and large Army units went into action. The airmobile division proved very effective in a war that required the ability to strike with surprise. The helicopter was a major weapon. It was used as an armed attack troop and cargo carrier, as well as an ambulance.
United States Army strength in Vietnam reached a peak of about 363,000 in April 1969. In the early 1970’s, the South Vietnamese assumed increasing responsibility for their own defense. By December 1972, about 14,000 U.S. Army troops remained. An agreement for a cease-fire in Vietnam was signed in Paris on Jan. 27, 1973. All U.S. ground troops left Vietnam shortly after the agreement was signed. But the war did not end until 1975.
Reorganizations.
In 1973, the U.S. government ended the military draft, and the armed services began recruiting all-volunteer forces. The same year, the Army began a reorganization designed to cut personnel and operating costs and improve readiness and efficiency. It included the establishment of the Forces Command and the Training and Doctrine Command.
In the mid-1980’s, the Army worked to reduce the amount of equipment and number of soldiers of its heavy divisions while keeping their combat abilities intact. Light infantry forces were redesigned so they could move rapidly anywhere. Army corps were provided with more artillery, aviation, and air defense capabilities.
The Persian Gulf War of 1991.
In August 1990, Iraq invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait. The United States, to prevent further aggression in the area by Iraq, began sending troops to Saudi Arabia. The United Kingdom, Egypt, and other nations also sent troops. By November, over one-third the total forces of the U.S. Army, including about 149,000 soldiers of the Army Reserve and National Guard, had been mobilized for war.
War began on Jan. 16, 1991, U.S. time, which was January 17 in Iraq. At first, the allied forces bombed military targets in Iraq and Kuwait. On February 23 U.S. time (February 24 in the war area), allied land forces began moving into Kuwait and Iraq. The allies quickly defeated the Iraqi forces there, suffering few casualties. Two days later, the Iraqi troops began withdrawing from Kuwait.
The Iraq War (2003-2011)
ended the rule of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. During the war, which began in March 2003, the Army participated in a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, mainly from Kuwait. Other Army troops parachuted into northern Iraq and joined forces there with Kurdish rebels. In April, the Army helped capture Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, ending Hussein’s rule. In December, Army forces captured Hussein in Ad Dawr, north of Baghdad.
In the turmoil following the fall of Hussein’s regime, Army troops sought to provide security and training for Iraqis. But soldiers continued to meet violent resistance from militant groups in Iraq. Militants employed ambushes and crude bombs called improvised explosive devices (IED’s) to kill and wound thousands of Army soldiers. In 2006, Army troops faced escalating violence between Iraqi Sunnis and Shī’ites—the two main Muslim sects—after Sunni militants bombed the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, considered holy to Shī’ites.
In 2011, United States troops withdrew from Iraq, but the country remained troubled by violence among different groups. In 2014, Sunni militants seized much of the Iraq’s north and west. A small number of Army special forces returned to Iraq to aid the country’s government, the Kurds, and other groups threatened by the militants, who called themselves the Islamic State.
The Afghanistan War (2001-2021)
began in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks, launched by al-Qa`ida, killed about 3,000 people. Beginning in October 2001, an international force led by the United States attacked the Taliban, the Sunni fundamentalist group that had ruled Afghanistan and sheltered al-Qa`ida. The force quickly overthrew the Taliban. However, the Taliban and other militant groups mounted a long-lasting insurgency (uprising) against Afghanistan’s new government. The United States supported the new government. The U.S. Army often fought insurgent forces in harsh terrain, facing complex ambushes and deadly improvised explosive devices (IED’s).
In 2011, U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qa`ida, in neighboring Pakistan. A formal ceremony in Afghanistan’s capital prematurely proclaimed an end of the war in 2014, even as the Taliban insurgency continued. A residual force of U.S. troops was set to remain in Afghanistan until 2016. In 2017, President Donald J. Trump authorized the Defense Department to send thousands of additional troops to the country. The United States and the Taliban signed an agreement in 2020 aimed at eventually ending the war in Afghanistan. The agreement called for the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. In 2021, as the United States and its allies withdrew their military forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban took over the country once again.
