United States Army

The United States Army (U.S. Army) is the land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution. It operates under the authority, direction, and control of the United States secretary of defense. It is one of the six armed forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Army is the most senior branch in order of precedence amongst the armed services. It has its roots in the Continental Army, formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.

The U.S. Army is part of the Department of the Army, which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the secretary of the Army (SECARMY), and by a chief military officer, the chief of staff of the Army (CSA) who is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is the largest military branch, and in the fiscal year 2022, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 480,893 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 336,129 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) had 188,703 soldiers; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,005,725 soldiers. The Army's mission is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States of America.‌

The United States Army serves as the primary land-based branch of the United States Department of Defense. Section 7062 of Title 10, U.S. Code defines the purpose of the army as:

In 2018, the Army Strategy 2018 articulated an eight-point addendum to the Army Vision for 2028. While the Army Mission remains constant, the Army Strategy builds upon the Army's Brigade Modernization by adding focus to corps and division-level echelons. The Army Futures Command oversees reforms geared toward conventional warfare. The Army's current reorganization plan is due to be completed by 2028.

The Army's five core competencies are prompt and sustained land combat, combined arms operations (to include combined arms maneuver and wide–area security, armored and mechanized operations and airborne and air assault operations), special operations forces, to set and sustain the theater for the joint force and to integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land.

The Continental Army was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain, with George Washington appointed as its commander. The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape the new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills.

The Army fought numerous pitched battles, and sometimes used Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics in the South in 1780 and 1781; under Major General Nathanael Greene, it hit where the British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at Trenton and Princeton, but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the Philadelphia campaign in 1777. With a decisive victory at Yorktown and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British.

After the war, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became the new nation's sole ground army, except a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans, it was soon considered necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army was at first very small and after General St. Clair's defeat at the Battle of the Wabash, where more than 800 soldiers were killed, the Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States, established in 1791 and renamed the United States Army in 1796.