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Veterans Day |Military Organizations 13 Issue #2
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Military branches active around the world -Austin Ridenour The United States Air Force (USAF) was founded Sept. 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch to be formed in the U.S. military. As of 2009, the USAF operates over 5,500 manned aircraft. There is approximately 330,159 personnel on active duty in the USAF. The USAF has many bases located in the United States. Most of these bases are located in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Texas because of the amount of open space that they provide. Wichita is home to the McConnell Air Force Base (AFB), which was transformed from an airport to an Air Force base in 1953. The McConnell AFB houses about 16,000 Air Force members. In addition to the large number of bases located in the U.S., there are also many bases located in countries around the world ranging from Germany to Japan. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is another major military wing that is part of the military in the United States. The Marines
Practice Makes Perfect. Military personnel practice medical evacuations using a helicopter. • Photo Flickr: DVIDSHUB
were founded in 1775, in an effort to help fight in wars. They have helped fight in every war since then that America has taken part of. As of October 2010, there were 203,000 active duty Marines and 40,000 reserve Marines. The USMC is the second smallest armed forces in the U.S. Department of Defense only in front of the Coast Guard. As one
of the smallest military branches, it is the lowest funded major military branch. An average Marine soldier costs about $20,000 for the soldier, equipment, supplies, etc. Marine bases are mostly located on the West Coast of the United States with a majority of them stationed in California and Hawaii. The United States Navy was founded in 1775 and
has operated continuously to this day. The Navy is one of the largest military branches, and it has a large number of active duty personnel with 333,642 and 101,689 people in the Navy Reserve. The Navy is also home to the world’s largest carrier fleet with 11 carrier ships in service. Perhaps, the most famously known Naval base is Pearl Harbor, for
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the attacks by Japan in WWII. There are also many other Naval bases around the U.S. coast lines with bases in California, Texas, Florida and Maine. Finally there is the Army. The United States Army was also created in 1775 along with with the Navy and Marine Corps, and is the main military branch for the United States. The Army is home to 561,984 active personnel. With the inclusion of the the Army Reserve and the National Guard, the United States Army is the largest military branch with 1,129,275 total soldiers. The Army has many bases throughout the United States along with many in other countries around the world. Army bases are located in Germany, Italy, South Korea, Iraq and many other places as well. There are also smaller branches like the Army Reserve, United States Coast Guard and the National Guard.