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The United States Armed Forces are the combined military forces of the United States of America. They consist of five branches: the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. Additionally, the National Guard was a civilian reserve military force with divisions in each state.
The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military. While the President is the commander-in-chief of the military, the United States Department of Defense, a federal executive department, is the principal organ by which military policy is carried out. The DOD is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and a member of the presidential cabinet, and also serves as the President's second-in-command of the military. Both the President and Secretary of Defense are advised by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which includes the head of each armed forces branch. ("Day 2: 8:00am-9:00am", "Day 2: 4:00am-5:00am", "Day 4: 7:00am-8:00am", et al)
Posse comitatus is a federal statute that forbids the deployment of either the Army or the Air Force on American soil. However, the other armed forces branches were exempted from this restriction. ("Day 2: 1:00am-2:00am")
See also[]
- Joint Chiefs of Staff
- United States Army
- United States Navy
- United States Marine Corps
- United States Air Force
- United States Coast Guard
