The U.S. Army is the oldest and largest of the U.S. Military’s six branches. Originally formed to protect the 13 colonies, only 595 men served in the U.S. Army at George Washington’s inauguration in 1789. Today, that number is much larger. This is understandable since the United States is much larger as well!
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Know Your U.S. Army
The President is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army. However, this wasn’t always the case. The military wasn’t put under the authority of the president until the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.
When the Second Continental Congress established the Armed Forces, it included about 27,000 militiamen. Since then, the size of the army has fluctuated based on the threat level and our involvement in wars around the globe. Today, the Army has over 482,000 active duty troops working to defend our borders, support our allies, and perform other operations that protect our nation.
The U.S. Army has bases across three continents and the entire United States, ranging from Washington state and Hawaii across the world to Japan. And while the Army generally keeps its feet on solid ground, it has naval and air divisions as well. It owns over 15 million acres of land around the United States. If you combined this land into one mass, it would be larger than several states.
The Army isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for the presidency, but it doesn’t hurt – twenty-four former presidents have served in the U.S. Army, including George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.
The Army has a long history in the United States, and it’s safe to say that we wouldn’t be the country we are today without the service of this long-standing military branch.
