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2%% ATTENTION EDITORS: Please DO NOT add conversational edits, ESPECIALLY any where you plan to attempt refuting something said in the article with your own comment. REWRITE THE EXAMPLE INSTEAD. DO NOT REPLY TO IT. Read the articles "Repair Don't Respond", "Thread Mode", "Conversation in the Main Page", and "This Troper" for the reasons as to why you should not do this. There are plenty of other places on TV Tropes where you can squabble over your personal opinions about the topic here.
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4[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/F15E_Strike_Eagle.jpg]]
5[[caption-width-right:330:DeathFromAbove has never been so stylish.]]
6%% This public domain image is an actual US Air Force photo from Afghanistan.
7%% http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-15E_391st_USAF_081215-F-7823A-931.jpg
8
9->"''Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.''"
10-->-- '''UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt'''
11
12The armed forces of the [[UsefulNotes/UnitedStates United States of America]] are generally regarded as being altogether the most powerful military force in history. The second-largest military in the world in terms of active personnel, with two million active and reserve personnel, the US also has the second largest existing stock of active nuclear weapons. With eleven aircraft carriers to serve as mobile airstrips (and a lot of amphibious assault ships), and basing rights on every continent except Antarctica (which no one has basing rights to), the US military has a global reach and relative budget as great as that of UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in her heyday, if not greater.
13
14The US military is ''so'' powerful because theirs is the world's single-largest economy, and the equivalent value of 4% of everything bought and sold in the country is spent on the military.[[labelnote:*]]4% of GDP, about ''twice'' the figure of similarly well-developed economies.[[/labelnote]] The United States' spending on its military has generally remained above this level since about 1940, when it first decided to field a military on the same level as the other Great Powers of the day, and the cumulative effect of this high spending has been an increase of its capabilities. The United States' UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and Cold War military budgets were much higher than today's, and when paired with US belligerency scared the Soviets so much it nearly resulted in WorldWarThree on two notable occasions.[[labelnote:*]]the 'Cuban Crisis' of '62 and 'Able Archer Exercise' of '83.[[/labelnote]] After the conciliatory attitude of UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan laid Soviet fears of annihilation to rest, the USSR's long-term high military expenses (previously needed to keep up with the US) caught up with her and contributed to her relatively peaceful self-dismemberment and suicide.
15
16Today the United States' military spending represents over a third of that of the entire world. Vast sums, greater than most countries' entire military budgets, are continually poured into various military R&D projects. To give another perspective, total US military spending is greater than the next ten highest countries ''combined''.
17
18[[foldercontrol]]
19
20!!The American military has seven component branches:
21
22[[folder:This We'll Defend: the United States Army]]
23The '''United States Army''' is the largest branch of the American armed forces by numbers, with over 500,000 active duty troops. In addition to infantry, the Army has [[CoolCar HMMWV's]],[[labelnote:*]]AKA the "Humvee"[[/labelnote]] trucks, [[TanksButNoTanks armored cars and trucks]], [[TankGoodness armored cavalry]], [[DeathFromAbove helicopters]], airplanes, and artillery. The United States Army is not to be confused with the '''Army of the United States'''. The Army of the United States refers to the conscript army that may be raised at the discretion of Congress in times of crisis. It incorporates regular Army units whenever it is formed.
24[[/folder]]
25
26[[folder:Semper Fortis: the United States Navy]]
27The '''United States Navy''' is the largest navy in the world by numbers alone,[[labelnote:*]]and the most powerful overall according to the Global Firepower Index[[/labelnote]] with over 200 commissioned (the ones that get the USS prefix) ships and over 200 support and standby ships. This is the branch that really sets the US military apart from the rest. Many countries have sizeable defensive forces but none are anywhere as capable in overseas deployment: the USN has 11 full-length nuclear aircraft carriers (ten ''Nimitz''-class carriers (often called "supercarriers" because they are much larger and more capable than anyone else's aircraft carriers), and the newer ''Ford''-class carriers, with the first one commissioned as of July 2017). All of them are individually larger than any other carrier in foreign service, and indeed are nearly twice the size of the next largest aircraft carriers; in addition, they have ten "smaller" amphibious assault ships intended to land Marines with some air support, which are larger than all but three other aircraft carriers in the world -- indeed, the US has as many aircraft carriers and more amphibious assault ships than the rest of the world combined (that's 11 and 10, respectively). Then we throw in the destroyers, cruisers, frigates, [[UsefulNotes/SuperiorFirepowerMissileSubmarines nuclear missile submarines]], attack submarines, and other assorted specialized or smaller craft and bake at 350 degrees for a really dangerous navy. In the 21st century, their continual presence on the high seas and at ports of call all over the world has made them one of the most visible and consistent projections of US global power, even in "peacetime," and has put them in a very active role fighting pirates, terrorists, and other threats to international seagoing trade.
28[[/folder]]
29
30[[folder:The Few, The Proud: the United States Marine Corps]]
31The '''[[SemperFi United States Marine Corps]]''' are part of the Department of the Navy, but operates fairly independently. In addition to infantry, they have many of the same resources as the Army and Air Force, (armored vehicles, tanks, artillery, helicopters, and jets) just not as many of them. They do tend to practice combined-arms more cohesively in smaller units than the Army and Air Force, down to battalion-level or smaller, which makes even small Marine units very tough, pound-for-pound. The Marine Corps is the smallest ("only" 170,000 of them) branch of the US Armed Forces. All this fits with the current role of the Marines in US military doctrine: beyond the amphibious assault it implies, the Marines are the ones called upon in the opening phases of any major military operation, clearing the way for the Army. It has been said that while the other branches' recruiting campaigns tell the prospective recruits about the training, benefits, money, education, etc., the Marines' recruiting campaign primarily promises the recruit [[DareToBeBadass the chance]] to [[TrainingFromHell try to become]] a Marine; the Marines have a reputation as {{memetic badass}}es in American society, almost thought to be on a par with the special forces.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:We Fly, We Fight, We Win: the United States Air Force]]
35The '''United States Air Force''' has over 3,000 manned aircraft and a massive proportion of the US's [[UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower Superior Firepower]], and is also making increased use of unmanned vehicles as well (much to the chagrin of its pilots). The USAF is also one of the few air forces in the world with truly stealth aircraft. (No, they haven't sent up a pilot to punch out a Cosmonaut, yet.) In fact, with the Air Force taking responsibility for defense of computer networks, its mission has been partially re-branded as [[http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123030505 "preserving the freedom of access and commerce,"]] in the air and cyberspace. Amongst the various branches of the US Armed Forces, the Air Force has the most [[MildlyMilitary laid back]] image (sometimes [[InterserviceRivalry gently chided]] as "The Chair Force" by the other branches), owing to the relatively egalitarian way the enlisted and commissioned ranks interact: most of the front-line combat in the Air Force is done by the officers (the USAF requires that all pilots be at least Second Lieutenants), an inverse of how it is done on the ground, and that operation of the larger aircraft often involves close cooperation amongst a small mixed crew of officers and enlisted men.
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Always Above: the United States Space Force]]
39The '''United States Space Force''', though still within the Department of the Air Force, is now officially its own separate branch. The Space Force's primary mission is to ensure the United States' free and open use of space, and has jurisidiction over all assets needed to reach, travel through, and return from, space. This would include all military satellites, space based transportation and logistics, space based early warning systems, and space combat. The Space Force currently does not have an established internal culture due to its recent formation, and it will be inheriting and assuming responsiblity for all space based assets and programs held by the other branches of the US Armed Forces.
40[[/folder]]
41
42The '''United States UsefulNotes/CoastGuard''' is officially part of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. In wartime, they switch over to the Department of Defense. They're also a federal regulatory agency. In any case, they do both military and law enforcement. Specifically, the Coast Guard handles things such as maintaining aids to navigation, marine safety, both military and civilian search and rescue, port security, and maritime interception operations. They can also provide law enforcement expertise to other branches (for example, when the Navy is going after pirates). In WWII, the Coast Guard manned destroyers and landing craft,[[note]]which is how one Coast Guardsman, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Albert_Munro Douglas Albert Munro]], would end up receiving the Medal of Honor, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome posthumously.]][[/note]] and one of their cutters took part in the battle at Pearl Harbor. Recently, they signed an agreement with the Navy that briefly allowed a limited number of Coast Guardsmen to serve with the [=SEALs=].
43
44The '''[[HomeGuard National Guard]]''' is a reserve made up of each state's organized militia, and includes both Army (Army National Guard) and Air Force (Air National Guard) units that can be mobilized by their respective state governments or "federalized" by the U.S. Department of Defense. Like each service's individual and organized reservists, the National Guard is made up of ordinary citizens (including veterans of active-duty Air Force and Army service) who, after having completed intensive basic and advanced training, serve one weekend a month plus two weeks a year -- hence the nickname "weekend warriors" (also used for reservists). As troops of their respective state governments, they're primarily employed in peacetime for the suppression of civil disorder (the Army is legally barred from doing this) and assistance in handling natural disasters, but are relied upon by the Army and the Air Force both as combat forces and support elements in time of war.
45
46In addition to the National Guard, there are 27 active '''State Defense Forces''' which serve as separate state militias. They operate with the Governor as their commander-in-chief. Typically, have the same duties as the National Guard, such as the suppression of civil disorder and the handling natural disasters. Unlike the National Guard, the state defense forces cannot be federalized without consent of the state's governor and sometimes legislature. This is because they're meant to provide the governor with a trained military force when the state's National Guard units are deployed elsewhere. Members with prior service experience retain their ranks and can advance in grade as awarded by the state, so the rank structure is somewhat inflated with the idea that they'll form a trained unit cadre (core) should a worst case scenario happen. During WWII and the Cold War, they were expected to defend their states from foreign invasion, but today they serve to help respond to national security issues, and are generally trained to be equal to their National Guard counterparts. The actual results vary with each state due to funding, local culture, local needs and interests. Many are starting to be put their paces with this recent spate of natural disasters, and so far have been doing a fair job of it. Many of their members and usually all of their senior leadership are veterans of the regular military, reserve, or National Guard.
47
48!!Follow the Leader: The Chain of Command
49
50As with every military of the entire world, the United States Armed Forces has a chain of command that every enlisted man and officer sworn into the forces ''must'' follow, without fail. Trouble is, given the size of it all it can get complicated the lower down you go, and some of the obvious leaders in the haystack actually have ''zero'' power.
51
52[[folder:The Buck Stops Here - The President]]
53
54-> '''Current president:''' Joe Biden (2021-present)
55
56The buck stops with (of course), the President of the United States who constitutionally is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. He has the sole authority to dispatch and remove troops from war zones even without a declaration of war from Congress. However, per the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Congress must approve any troop deployments longer than 60 days[[note]]this act has never been invoked, making it near redundant as a result[[/note]]. In modern times, the President traditionally delegates military matters to his advisors and [=SecDef=], in stark contrast to predecessors like George Washington (the only President to lead troops in battle ''[[FrontlineGeneral during]]'' his presidency) and Abraham Lincoln (who actively marshalled the American Civil War, personally appointing Ulysses S. Grant head of the Union Armies).
57
58Sidenote, 32 of the 46 Presidents were in the military at some point, and some even used it to push their way to the presidency. 17 were in the Army, 9 in the state militias or National Guard and 6 in the Navy. George Washington is one of two officers to earn the rank of General of the Armies of the United States (the other being John J. Pershing), Andrew Jackson was a Major General who rose to fame in the War of 1812, Ulysses S. Grant was head of the Union Armies during the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar and Dwight D. Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II.
59
60For more details about the Presidency itself, see UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates.
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder:Underdressing Forbidden - The Secretary of Defense]]
64
65[[AC:The Secretary of Defense]]
66-> '''First holder:''' James Forrestal (1947-1949, under UsefulNotes/HarryTruman)\
67'''Current holder:''' Lloyd Austin (2021-present, under UsefulNotes/JoeBiden)
68
69Below the President is the Secretary of Defense, the Cabinet-level official who runs the United States Department of Defense as "the principal assistant to the President on matters relating" to the department. Any war movie that takes place after 1947 probably has him in it, and [[Film/Transformers2007 it's best not to be underdressed in front of him]]. The position is relatively recent by modern standards, having been formed from the offices of the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy[[labelnote:*]]now non-cabinet positions within the Department of Defense[[/labelnote]], themselves preceded by the Secretary of War. One could call the Secretary (abbreviated as [=SecDef=]) the "deputy commander-in-chief", since his powers exceed that of any commissioned officer in the Armed Forces. Prior military experience is not required to be Secretary of Defense[[labelnote:*]]Obama's last [=SecDef=], Ash Carter, was more an expert on public and foreign policy[[/labelnote]], though it comes highly recommended.
70
71As with many defense[=/=] armed forces ministers throughout the world (except notably, UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}), the position of [=SecDef=] is held by a non-uniformed civilian to maintain civilian control of the military. Any military officer eyeing the throne must have been retired from active duty for at least seven years, though a waiver can be granted by the Senate. The current [=SecDef=], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Austin Lloyd Austin]] (the first African American to be [=SecDef=]), is the third person to be granted this waiver, having retired from the Army in 2016 as commander of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). The previous two are George Marshall in 1950 (''de facto'' head of the US Army in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) and Jim Mattis in 2017 (even though Trump later fired him anyway).
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Unified Combatant Commanders - Stars and Stripes Around the World]]
75
76Ever since the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater%E2%80%93Nichols_Act Goldwater-Nichols Act]] nullified the powers of the service chiefs, the combatant commanders have been the top brass of the US military, in the United States itself and worldwide. Since World War II, as the least badly hit and most powerful military in the world, the United States is the only country capable of maintaining large swaths of armed troops in outside nations, especially in cooperations with multinational coalitions like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations, making unified combatant commands to lead forces in those areas a necessity.
77
78So what is a combatant commander anyway? A combatant commander is a four-star general or admiral responsible for all American armed forces in a geographic area of responsibility (usually by continent) or a specific aspect of the military (transportation, strategy, special operations). This is specifically so all armed forces regardless of service are under effective command in peace and wartime. The combatant commanders report directly to the Secretary of Defense, and ''not'' their respective service chiefs. Currently, there are 11 unified combatant commands:
79
80----
81
82[[AC:United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM)]]
83[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seal_of_the_united_states_africa_commandsvg.png]]
84-> '''Established:''' 1 October 2007\
85'''Current commander:''' GEN Stephen J. Townsend, U.S. Army\
86'''Headquarters:''' Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany
87
88In charge of military operations in all of Africa except Egypt, which is under Central Command. The '''United States Africa Command''' (USAFRICOM) has its main target in East African terrorist group al-Shabaab, active in Somalia, Kenya and Yemen. It is the first combatant command to not have a permanent base in their area of operations, instead housed in Germany next to the European Command in neighbouring Patch Barracks. This is because most African nations are either vying for the spot since it will earn them [[MoneyDearBoy all of the cash]], or protesting US involvement on their soil. Only Liberia has expressed public willingness for an AFRICOM base in their country. So far, little permanent forces are assigned to AFRICOM, with their army, air force, navy and marine components being combined with European Command's units. Until 2008, they were part of US Central Command.
89
90----
91
92[[AC:United States Central Command (USCENTCOM)]]
93[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1024px_seal_of_the_united_states_central_command.png]]
94-> '''Established:''' 1 January 1983\
95'''Current commander:''' Gen Kenneth F. [=McKenzie=] Jr, U.S. Marine Corps\
96'''Headquarters:''' [=MacDill=] Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida, United States
97
98If you follow news on Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, [[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen people getting blown up by a robot god at Giza]] or... literally anywhere in the Middle East, you've probably heard of these guys. Responsible for military operations in the Middle East[[labelnote:*]]including Egypt and Israel in Africa[[/labelnote]], Central Asia and parts of South Asia, the '''United States Central Command''' (USCENTCOM) is the busiest of the bunch, given that UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror has its nesting grounds in the region. Officers who commanded this region have become household names, including Martin Dempsey (first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs under UsefulNotes/BarackObama), David Petraeus (rose to fame for the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan) Jim Mattis (aka Mad Dog, Trump's first [=SecDef=]) and current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
99
100Under them is US Army Central (USARCENT), US Air Forces Central Command (USAFCENT/Ninth Air Force), US Marine Corps Forces Central Command (USMARCENT) and US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT/US Fifth Fleet). Their headquarters is not in the Middle East; unlike USAFRICOM they actually have forward operating bases in the region. The special NATO task force Resolute Support Mission (at least the American contingent) is also answerable to them, since the task force is commanded by a four-star American general.
101
102----
103
104[[AC:United States European Command (USEUCOM)]]
105[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1200px_useucomsvg.png]]
106-> '''Established:''' 1 August 1952\
107'''Current commander:''' Gen Tod D. Walters, U.S. Air Force\
108'''Headquarters:''' Patch Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany (currently relocating to Belgium)
109
110Another one you've probably heard of, especially if you're a World War II enthusiast. Descended from the European theater of operations during World War II, the '''United States European Command''' (USEUCOM) is in deep with NATO. How deep? So deep that the combatant commander and SACEUR (Supreme Allied Commander Europe) have been held by the same person, an American four-star officer since its creation in 1951, its first commander was UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower and its second is Matthew Ridgway! Yes, ''[[UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar that]]'' Ridgway. Obviously, USEUCOM is responsible for all operations in Europe, including Russia and until 2021, Israel. Their headquarters has been in Germany since its inception, though there are plans to move to Belgium in the wake of its neighbour, US African Command.
111
112Aside from NATO forces, under them is US Army Europe (USAREUR), US Naval Forces Europe (USNAVEUR/US Sixth Fleet), US Air Forces Europe (USAFEUR/Third Air Force) and US Marine Corps Forces, Europe (USMAREUR).
113
114----
115
116[[AC:United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM)]]
117[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/indopacom_emblem_2018.png]]
118-> '''Established:''' 1 January 1947\
119'''Current commander:''' ADM John C. Aquilino, U.S. Navy\
120'''Headquarters:''' Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii, United States
121
122The oldest of the combatant commands, the '''United States Indo-Pacific Command''' (USINDOPACOM) is also the largest, responsible for military operations in the entire Indo-Pacific region i.e. most of Asia, China, Australia and the entire Pacific Ocean. However, its greatest achievements came before it was ever created. Their naval component, the US Pacific Fleet was the star player of World War II in the Pacific. The race to avenge the bombing of their Pearl Harbor headquarters in 1941 was the driving force behind the near-destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, commanded by Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, himself under the leadership of the late, great Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, from whom the supercarrier ''USS Nimitz'' is named after.
123
124Besides the standard army, navy, air force and marine components, INDOPACOM also has operating forces in Japan and South Korea (aka the ones preventing North Korea from charging into another Korean War). US Forces Japan, centered in Okinawa, and US Forces Korea, headquartered in Pyeongtaek, maintain considerable numbers in their respective countries. Like with SACEUR, the commander of US Forces in Korea is also dual-hatted as head of the United Nations Command, the multinational military force that protects the South from North Korean invasion.
125
126----
127
128[[AC:United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)]]
129[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seal_of_the_united_states_northern_command.png]]
130-> '''Established:''' 1 October 2002\
131'''Current commander:''' Gen Glen D. [=VanHerck=], U.S. Air Force\
132'''Headquarters:''' Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States (also HQ for NORAD)
133
134If you're an American citizen, chances are USNORTHCOM is the one protecting your skies right now. The '''United States Northern Command''' (USNORTHCOM) is in charge of protecting the continental United States and its neighbours i.e. Canada, Alaska, Puerto Rico and Mexico. US Atlantic Command and US Joint Forces Command previously held responsibility before being disestablished in 1999 and 2011 respectively. However, note that this is ''not'' NORAD. NORAD, or the North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of American and Canadian forces to monitor their airspace for threats and would likely be the first to know if a [[NukeEm big giant nuke]] was approaching. It's just convenient that NORTHCOM's commander is also head of NORAD. Cheyenne, despite how awesome it looks (and it is!), is only the secondary headquarters for NORAD. Neither does NORAD have a [[Film/WarGames supercomputer that wants to nuke humanity to kingdom come]], but they do track [[https://www.noradsanta.org/ Santa's journey]] every December.
135
136As the first line of defense for an invasion of the United States, USNORTHCOM has a lot of units assigned to it, many of which are equipped to train forces not just for itself, but other combatant commands worldwide. Its army component also has the small US Army Alaska attached to it, naval component US Fleet Forces Command (to be renamed US Atlantic Fleet) also has some control of naval forces in USSOUTHCOM, and Air Forces Northern (USARNORTH/First Air Force) also has operational control of the Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
137
138----
139
140[[AC:United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)]]
141[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seal_of_the_united_states_southern_commandsvg.png]]
142-> '''Established:''' 1963\
143'''Current commander:''' ADM Craig S. Faller, U.S. Navy\
144'''Headquarters:''' Doral, Florida
145
146South America and the Caribbean are the business of the '''United States Southern Command''' (USSOUTHCOM). The smallest of the combatant commands when established, it was the only one to have a three-star instead of a four-star officer commanding it. Among their areas of responsibility is the Panama Canal, especially to prevent an incident like what happened with Suez. When necessary, their forces support immediate neighbour NORTHCOM up in the continental United States.
147
148Forces assigned to them include US Army South (USARSOUTH/US Sixth Army), Air Forces Southern (USARSOUTH/Twelfth Air Force), US Naval Forces Southern Command (USNAVSOUTH/US Fourth Fleet) and US Marine Corps Forces, South (USMARSOUTH). Of note is the special Joint Task Force - Guantanamo which has run Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and its infamous detention camps since 2002.
149
150----
151
152[[AC:United States Space Command (USSPACECOM)]]
153[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1024px_united_states_space_command_emblem_2019.png]]
154-> '''Established:''' 29 August 2019 (present version)\
155'''Current commander:''' GEN James H. Dickinson, U.S. Army\
156'''Headquarters:''' Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
157
158The '''United States Space Command''' (USSPACECOM) was previously its own thing until 2002 when it was folded into Strategic Command, then became its own thing again in 2019 after the US Space Force was established. They are in charge of anything space-related in the US Armed Forces, meaning any military missions to space, satellites and possible future SpaceBattle with giant warships will be under their command. The United States Space Force on the other hand is responsible for prepping and running the well-oiled rockets, satellites and communications systems needed to make these battles happen. Currently headquartered in the same place as USNORTHCOM, though the search is on for a new location[[labelnote:*]]funnily enough, [[https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/01/space-force-trump-biden/617812/ popular opinion seems to want to keep it there]][[/labelnote]].
159
160Under their command are the space-oriented commands of each service branch, including the Space Operations Command of the US Space Force. They also have two independent commands: the Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC) which assesses the global space situation and relays information to the other combatant commands, and Joint Task Force Space Defense (JTF-SD) does the heavy-lifting of space superiority operations to deter enemies from threatening the States using space warfare.
161
162----
163
164[[AC:United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)]]
165[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/facebook_spear.png]]
166-> '''Established:''' 16 April 1987\
167'''Current commander:''' GEN Richard D. Clarke, U.S. Army\
168'''Headquarters:''' [=MacDill=] Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida, United States
169
170The result of the failed Operation Eagle Claw[[labelnote:*]]a disastrous attempt by special forces to end the Iran Hostage crisis[[/labelnote]], the '''United States Special Operations Command''' (USSOCOM, the namesake of [[VideoGame/SOCOMUSNavySeals the video games]]) has command and control over all deployed Special Forces units. The list includes but is not limited to: Army Special Forces (the "Green Berets"), Delta Force (technically an "operational detachment" of Special Forces), Army Rangers, the Navy's [=SEAL=] ([=SEa=], Air, Land) Teams, US Air Force Special Operations, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), and many other groups not as well known. They also partner with intelligence agencies like the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} (which has its own Special Activities Division), and many of these units cross-train with each other or attach to other US or allied military units as the mission demands. Also, the Secretary of Defense has the power to grant USSOCOM total control of all Special Operations Forces units, usually in cases of open war.
171
172----
173
174[[AC:United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)]]
175[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/us_strategic_command_emblemsvg.png]]
176-> '''Established:''' 1 June 1992\
177'''Current commander:''' ADM Charles A. Richard, U.S. Navy\
178'''Headquarters:''' Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, United States
179
180The ones who hold the NuclearOption. The '''United States Strategic Command''' (USSTRATCOM) has custody of the United States' many nuclear warheads and supports the service branches and other combatant commands with matters of space and missile defense as well as global command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance ([=C4ISR=]). Under their command is the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Marine Corps Forces Strategic Command, United States Fleet Forces Command, Air Force Global Strike Command.
181
182----
183
184[[AC:United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)]]
185[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/900px_us_transcom_emblemsvg.png]]
186-> '''Established:''' 1987\
187'''Current commander:''' Gen Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, U.S. Air Force\
188'''Headquarters:''' Scott Air Force Base, St. Clair County, Illinois, United States
189
190They handle all transportation matters in the United States Armed Force, established after a years-long ban on consolidating military transport functions. What's under their command include the Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, the Navy's Military Sealift Command, the Air Force's Air Mobility Command and other such commands.
191
192[[/folder]]
193
194!!Responsibilities roughly break down as follows:
195* The Army primarily fights on the land, supplying the infantrymen and mechanized firepower the Marine Corps cannot (see below). However, Army Rangers are expected to be capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 48 hours notice, making them, in addition to the Marines' Expeditionary Forces, first responders. The Army is considered the main land-based fighting force for the United States.
196* The Navy primarily fights on or under the seas.
197** The Navy also has its own air corps, as well as units tasked with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Tenth_Fleet cyberspace,]] and even [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPAWAR normal space.]]
198* The Air Force primarily fights in the sky. Air Force personnel are often tasked with providing close air support for infantry engagements, as well as maintaining air superiority in a given zone. The Air Force also has control over a large number of the United States' nuclear arsenal. The Air Force is so good at its air superiority role that it can claim that not a single American soldier on the ground has ever been so much as ''wounded'' by enemy aircraft since it was formed in 1947. Something that wasn't true in World War II.
199* The Space Force primarily fights in space. However, more than that, the Space Force also maintains and defends space based infrastructure, such as the US military's satellite network, for the benefit of the other branches.
200* The Marine Corps are a fast-responding multipurpose branch, with integrated air, land, and sea elements. At any given moment, two Marine Expeditionary Forces are at sea and ready to deploy at a word. Basically, they're often among the first military troops formally deployed into a zone. Marines, as their name would imply, specialize in amphibious warfare.
201* The Coast Guard acts as a maritime law enforcement agency, with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters; as a result, they tend to get featured more in law-enforcement contexts (e.g. intercepting drug runners and Cuban refugees on rafts). In wartime they take a coastal-defense role, working alongside the Navy.
202* The National Guard acts as a reserve force in addition to the Army and Air Force's own reserves. In peacetime, they are primarily used to suppress civil disorder (the Army is legally barred from doing this, but National Guard are technically state militia and therefore have the authority to perform those tasks) and provide assistance in handling natural disasters. They also are a heavy part of support jobs during war time, such as military police, engineers, quartermasters and medical support.[[note]]This is due to an intentional restructuring of the Army and Air Force in the [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar post-Vietnam War]] era, largely in an attempt to curb the Federal Government's reliance on the military to solve foreign policy questions without causing the civilian sector to be immediately impacted, while simplifying the professional military's support structure, which had caused a large amount of bloat in numbers, while not enhancing effectiveness.[[/note]]
203* USSOCOM's various special forces handle missions like counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, unconventional warfare, reconnaissance, infiltration, "direct action" (raids), and search and rescue. Soldiers from SOCOM, normally the Army's Special Forces operatives and Navy [=SEALs=], are generally the first military troops to enter into a country before invasion, normally arriving before hostilities even begin. SOCOM troops are also trained in such actions as militia training and providing rebels with the expertise and firepower to successfully revolt against the current regime.
204
205As an incredibly powerful military force the US has for some time had the luxury of practicing "asymmetrical warfare", in which it is possible to take very few losses because of the extent to which it outmatches its opponents. The last time this was ''not'' the case was the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar.
206
207The USA pairs this extreme aversion to death and wounding with a fairly bog-standard 'Combined-Arms Warfare' doctrine, under which the various combat and support arms co-operate rather than competing. Think ''Film/Transformers2007'': Army calling for help from Air Force; Air Force calling for help from... [[{{Dissimile}} Giant transforming robots]], giant transforming robots calling for help from {{Action Survivor}}s played by Creator/ShiaLaBeouf, and Action Survivors calling for help from the Army. [[note]] In laymen's terms, this means that either you get [[MoreDakka air support[=/=]navy support ]]to bomb the ever-loving shit out of the enemy while you hunker down, or you strike preemptively and blow up the enemies emplacements before they even know you're going to be there.[[/note]]
208
209A statistic will [[LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics say almost anything if you employ sufficient 'enhanced interrogation techniques' upon it]], but the guesses are that there have been between 1.7 and 2.7 million Americans 'casualties' in war depending on your definition of a casualty (do non-lethal injuries count?),[[note]]Often yes. In English-language military usage, the word "casualty" refers to personnel made unavailable to their units for whatever reason, including sickness or capture. Fatalities and cripplings are known as "fatalities" or "irrecoverable losses".[[/note]] "war" (does the Bay of Pigs invasion count?) and "Americans" (what about stuff during the Thirteen-Colonies period, or The American Civil War?).
210
211Still, whatever the math, it's no small number. Hell, it rivals the number of Soviet military cripples and head-cases from the Second World War (2.9 million)! In fact, it's so large that, dating from 1776 and taking the largest figure, that works out to an average of 11,500 deaths a year (for comparison, since the 1980s about 40,000 Americans have been killed per year in car crashes).
212
213!!Carriers For Wagner: American Military Vehicles
214American military vehicles have been widely exported, sometimes after previous use -- the ''General Belgrano'', an Argentine Navy light cruiser sunk by the British in the Falklands War, had been an American light cruiser (the USS ''Phoenix'' [CL-46]). The most notable not mentioned in UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower are:
215
216!!!Ground vehicles
217
218[[folder:Light Utility Vehicles]]
219* The '''Willys MB''' (and identical twin '''Ford GPW'''), known better around the world as the Jeep. Standard light vehicle of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and used for quite a while after that, it was and still is also widely purchased by civilians. The US Lend-Lease sent over 50,000 Willys Jeeps to the Soviet Union, which didn't produce an equivalent-sized vehicle and didn't realise how useful they could be until they got them -- whereupon they seem to have fallen in love with the hardy little thing. For decades after "Willys" was a Russian slang term for light truck.
220** For further reference, the M-38/CJ-5 which entered service in 1952 and the market for 1955 was the last Jeep model designed for both military and civilian purposes.
221* The '''HMMWV''' (High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, Humvee or Hummer). Designed as a replacement for the Willys MB, but its chassis has been pressed into many, ''many'' other roles as well--not as glamorous as it sounds, because the HMMWV has no protection from land mines or [=IEDs=]. Its extreme width (designed to prevent rollovers, a common problem with the Jeeps) poses a major problem in dense urban or wooded environments, too.
222** A slimmer civvie version (H1) was previously available. Very much a gas guzzler, so much so that it ran afoul of California fuel economy standards. A hydrogen-fueled version has seen limited use (the [=H2H=]).
223* Just starting to replace the HMMWV is the '''JLTV''' (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle), an attempt to apply the protection lessons learned with the HMMWV to a new vehicle that would carry greater loads and retain stock HMMWV mobility without excessive cost.
224[[/folder]]
225
226[[folder:Armored Cars]]
227* The '''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshkosh_M-ATV Oshkosh M-ATV]]''' is an up-and-coming replacement to the HMMWV, designed to be everything from the outset that the Humvee wasn't--the ''M'' in M-ATV means MRAP, which means ... Mine Resistant Ambush Protected. Yeah, they ''really'' got the hint about the Humvee's main weakness.
228** What is kind of scary is that this things looks like the EDF Jeep from ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla''.
229** Or perhaps the EDF Jeep looks like the M-ATV!
230[[/folder]]
231
232[[folder:Infantry Fighting Vehicles]]
233* The '''M2 Bradley''' is the current primary infantry fighting vehicle for the US Army. Designed to be able to carry up to six troops and be able to keep up with the M1 Abrams, the Bradley has played a key role in American mechanized warfare. Built as an answer to the Soviet BMP-2, the Bradley is capable of carrying and supporting troops as well as engaging enemy armor. The Bradley is armed with a 25 mm chain gun, TOW missiles, and firing ports for the troops inside.
234* The '''Stryker''' is a new family of armored combat vehicles that seek to replace the US Army's older vehicles. The Stryker is an embodiment the US armed forces' new emphasis on speed, compact size, light weight, and versatility. Capable of carrying up to 9 troops, the Stryker provides much need protection and combat support, yet is small and light enough to be carried on a standard C-130. It can also be modified for a number of specialized uses such as artillery support, mobile command vehicle, ambulance, and reconnaissance. The tradeoff for this speed and deployability is significantly less armor than its heavier cousins, but thanks to armor upgrades it is more than capable of taking whatever is thrown at it. Most Stykers are armed with the venerable Browning M2 heavy machine gun, though there are specialist variants armed with 105mm guns (mounted in a fully automated unmanned turret), antitank missiles and mortars for support fire.
235[[/folder]]
236
237[[folder:Tanks]]
238* Arguably no tank is more iconic than the venerable '''M4 Sherman''' medium tank. While it didn't have the heavy armor or raw firepower of German tanks like the Panther or Tiger, and wasn't as dirt cheap to build as the Russian T-34, the Sherman made a name for itself by being a very effective JackOfAllTrades, being able to be modified to fit an almost endless number of uses. In addition, an unsung benefit the Sherman provided was its unmatched reliablity compared to contemprary tanks of the time. Because America had to ship Shermans overseas and away from the factories that built them, the Sherman had to be engineered so it would need as little mechanical support as possible. This meant that Shermans were put under such strict quality controls that a Sherman could drive for hundreds or even thousands of miles without breaking down, which was leagues ahead of competing foreign tanks which could hardly last a few dozen miles before needing a tow. Add on top if its ability to operate in nearly any climate condition, and it's now wonder that a whopping '''50,000''' of the tanks were built over the course of the war. The Sherman proved to be such a robust design that the very last Shermans to be retired from active duty from an organized military was in '''2018'''.
239* The '''M1 Abrams'''' is America's main battle tank. It was born to defend bottlenecks in West Germany like the Fulda Gap and Hof Corridor during the Cold War from the relatively inexpensive and even more numerous Soviet tanks. That's why the first iteration of the Abrams, rolled out in 1981, had features like Chobham composite laminate armor[[note]]Disputed. Some say it's only the original M1 that uses it, while others claim it always has been using another type of Depleted Uranium based armor that is very similar to the English Chobham armor. Nevertheless, the way the armor works is supposed to be very similar to how Chobham is described to work[[/note]], a FLIR sensor suite (''very'' expensive for the time), laser rangefinder and ballistic computer. It got the last piece of its original wish list with the [=M1A1=], replacing the older 105mm/L52 M68 rifled main gun with the [[{{BFG}} German Rheinmetall 120mm/L44 smoothbore main gun]], licensed-made as the M256. The Abrams is also powered by a gas turbine. It's so fast that the Army puts a governor on the engine to keep them from speeding. With the governor removed, it can reach 70mph on a decent road--even though it weighs 68 tons. That's putting the "lightning" in LightningBruiser. Unfortunately, this means it's also a gas guzzler (roughly 1 gallon per mile, and it takes 10 gallons just to ''start'' the engine), and its speed leads to problems like having an entire Abrams unit run out of fuel and wait for five hours for fuel trucks to arrive. [[note]]Oops...:The unit happened to be in downtown Baghdad at the time surrounded by hostiles and with only a few Bradleys as back-ups.[[/note]] On the other hand, its engine can accept most any commonly available flammable or combustible liquids as a fuel, compared to a diesel engine needing well, diesel. In a nonfiction book of his (Armored Cav), Creator/TomClancy recounted a story of an Abrams tank in the Gulf War. Having been immobilized by an enemy shot while deep in hostile territory, the crew of the tank found themselves in what military experts would call "a crappy situation". In the space of thirty seconds or so the immobilized tank destroyed four enemy tanks, two of which got shots off, hitting the tank but completely bouncing off of its proprietary DU-laced armor. When reinforcements arrived they decided it was too much trouble to lug the tank back, and decided to destroy it on site. The American tanks took turns shooting another 8 or 9 times before the turret was penetrated, detonating the ammo stocks--which had little effect due to the blowout hatches installed. The tank's turret was taken back to the US for analysis while the chassis was refit with another turret and returned to action in a week. That's some serious armor. In another example contained in David Zucchino's book, Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad, one of the Abrams was disabled by enemy fire. Forces attempting to destroy it on-site set off thermite grenades in the main hatch, detonating both the explosives and the ammunition stored in the tank. This was followed by the tank receiving a HEAT round from another Abrams, and then an AGM-65 Maverick anti-armor missile, as well as two AGM Hellfire missiles were fired via gunship into the tank. The end result? The interior of the tank was demolished, but its armor and exterior appeared relatively unharmed. This tank's a God-damned "[[VideoGame/MechWarrior Battlemech]]".
240[[/folder]]
241
242[[folder:Artillery]]
243* The venerable '''M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer''', first built in 1963 and serving through Vietnam, remains in production to this day as the backbone of the Army's self-propelled tube artillery. While criticized for being less capable than newer SPGs on the market, successive upgrades mean that it has all of the capabilities listed for the towed M777 on a more survivable and mobile platform.
244* The '''M777 Howitzer''' entered the public consciousness thanks to its involvement in the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian War. While the M777 by itself is not particularly special for a howitzer, it is very modern with a titanium construction that allows it to be easily airlifted, a digital fire control system for increased precision, as well as the capability to fire a variety of 155mm artillery shells, including special rocket propelled, GPS guided precision shells. This was a major improvement over the older Cold War era Soviet artillery Ukraine started with, and helped close the major artillery gap between it and Russia.
245* Before HIMARS, there was the '''M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)''', which was much like its successor except tracked and large enough to mount two of the same GMLRS or ATACMS rocket pods. While not as mobile as the later HIMARS the M270 was still incredibly devastating, with stories of Iraqi conscripts surrendering so as not to be subjected to the "Iron Rain".
246* The '''M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS)''' is a light mobile rocket launcher which really made a name for itself in the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian War. Armed with long range and highly accurate rockets, HIMARS was a departure from the typical SpamAttack tactics other MLRS vehicles used, preferring to use a few guided rockets to hit specific targets. Once Ukraine was able to deploy the vehicles, the Russian advances quickly ground to a halt as the Ukrainians were able to exploit HIMARS' longe range precision capabilities to destroy strategic targets such as ammo dumps, headquarters, and bridges with Russia being utterly unable to find a suitable counter to them. And this isn't even getting into the fact that the US did not provide the longest range rockets, ATACMS and the Precision Strike Missile, which can hit targets up to 500km away. And this was all from only 20 HIMARS launchers. Their performance was so stellar during the war that foreign demand for the system ''exploded'', with the US looking to produce another '''500''' launchers over the next few years.
247[[/folder]]
248
249!!!Ships
250The U.S. Navy has grown from the end of the Civil War era from a force composed mostly of a huge amount of monitors (small, heavy river and coastal-defense ships useful for very little on the open sea) to a fast, powerful, and flexible military that can direct massive amounts of firepower.
251
252[[folder:The Monitors]]
253During the 1800s, navies the world over started experimenting with armor plating on their warships, starting with the French ''Gloire''-class and British ''Warrior''-class ironclads in 1857 and 59. Americans entered the ironclad party in 1862 with CSS ''Virginia,'' a Confederate ironclad ram built on the unburnt portion of the steam frigate USS ''Merrimack'' (not ''Merrimac'') and USS ''Monitor,'' a 700-ton gunboat that gave its name to a new type of warship. Of the two, ''Monitor'' was immediately world-changing; its small number of very heavy guns in a revolving turret would change the way that naval warfare was thought of. As a prototype, ''Monitor'' was immensely flawed, of course -- she leaked, she was top-heavy even with her miniscule freeboard of only fourteen inches (even that required substantial lightening of the hull), and her turret motor was so weak that the best solution for her guns was to start the turret revolving, keep it revolving, and fire when the guns trained on an enemy vessel.
254
255The two ironclads met only once, at the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 8–9, 1862, but their meeting changed naval warfare forever. On the 8th, ''Virginia'' attacked and ravaged the Union blockading squadron at Hampton Roads, sinking the sloop-of-war USS ''Cumberland'' with her ram, setting USS ''Congress'' ablaze, and driving USS ''Minnesota,'' her former sister ship, aground.
256
257''Monitor'' arrived under cover of night and took up position guarding the grounded ''Minnesota''. In the morning, ''Virginia'' waded back out, expecting to easily complete the destruction of ''Minnesota.'' Instead, she was engaged in a six-hour running battle with the tiny ''Monitor,'' which her guns had a difficult time engaging. ''Monitor'' herself, ordered to use half-charges in her guns (the Navy didn't trust the Dahlgren cannon), couldn't generate enough velocity to penetrate ''Virginia'''s sloped armor, so the battle ended inconclusively.
258
259The Union, however, encouraged, ran off nearly 100 additional ships on the ''Monitor'' platform before the end of the Civil War, and these vessels made up the core of the postwar fleet -- despite their slow speed and almost total lack of seaworthiness.
260
261* '''Civil War Monitors:''' Generally built on the pattern of USS ''Monitor,'' these ships consisted of a single turret on a very low hull, with minimal upper works to get shot up by enemy fire. They were slow (typical top speed was under 12 knots), cumbersome, and unseaworthy, which limited their utility to coastal waters and rivers, but they were extremely powerful for their size and cost, and took their Confederate counterparts (almost all of them ''Virginia''-style broadside ironclads) apart. A few larger examples at the end of the war had two turrets, one forward and one aft, but remained unseaworthy and only suitable for coast defense roles.
262
263* '''New Navy Monitors:''' In the late 1870s, the US Navy that had been built during the Civil War mostly languished in reserve, its ships slowly moldering and rusting away. To modernize the fleet, the Navy built a series of six new monitors that were ostensibly ''[[BlatantLies repairs]]'' of rotting Civil War-era ships. Aside from the "repair" funds allocated by Congress (utterly insufficient to purchase six new ships of this size) .[[note]]There had been just a few years earlier the utter embarrassment of the 1873 Virginius Affair, in which public demands for war (as retaliation for the execution of American mercenaries who'd been hired by Cuban rebels to fight against Spain) were rejected in favor of diplomacy in no small part because the Spanish ironclad frigate ''Arapiles'' happened to be in New York for minor repairs...and the quite embarrassing realization was made that this one ship (not even Spain's best) was [[EpicFail more powerful than the entire US Navy]]. This desperate state of affairs left Secretary of the Navy George Robeson willing to do anything, regardless of legality, to get modern warships.[[/note]] When the ruse was found out, there was an outcry, but the result was the construction of four new ships without the same pretense, and the beginning of the 20th Century US Navy. The New Navy monitors were marginally more useful than the earlier ones, but still not very seaworthy and underpowered by the standards of the battleships that the Royal Navy was putting to sea. The last of them was built in the 1890s, around the end of the Spanish-American War, and all were discarded at the end of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI World War I]].
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:The Great White Fleet]]
267During the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, the U.S. Navy organized a world cruise of its battle fleet to demonstrate its range and might. This fleet consisted of sixteen of the twenty-seven battleships that had been built by the U.S. Navy to date. Left out of the fleet were the "second-class" battleships ''Texas,'' ''Idaho,'' and ''Mississippi,'' the unseaworthy coastal defense battleships of the ''Indiana'' class, and the slow ''Iowa'' (BB-4, not her later, much larger namesake). The newly-completed battleship USS ''New Hampshire'' (BB-25) had not finished workups by the time the fleet departed; by the time they returned, the ''South Carolina''-class dreadnoughts were fitting out.
268
269The fleet was much more impressive on paper than it was in reality; the first dreadnoughts were already being built and tested, whereas every ship in the Great White Fleet was of pre-dreadnought design and four of them (the older ''Kearsarge''-class ships and newer ''Virginia'' class) used a turret design that made half of their secondary armament useless. Still, as a demonstration of the USN's logistical ability, it was impressive.
270
271Ships of the Great White Fleet:
272
273* ''Kearsarge''-class battleships USS ''Kearsarge''[[note]]The only American battleship ever to not be named for a state.[[/note]] and ''Kentucky''
274* ''Illinois''-class battleships ''Illinois'' and ''Alabama''
275* ''Maine''-class battleships USS ''Maine,'' ''Missouri'' and ''Ohio''
276* ''Virginia''-class battleships USS ''Virginia,'' ''New Jersey,'' ''Georgia'' and ''Rhode Island''
277* ''Connecticut''-class battleships USS ''Connecticut,'' ''Kansas,'' ''Vermont,'' ''Louisiana'' and ''Minnesota''
278
279During the first leg of the fleet, USS ''Connecticut'' led the first squadron of the fleet and USS ''Minnesota'' led the second; a reorganization of the fleet at San Francisco to bring the newest and finest ships in the fleet up to the first squadron (since those ships would be anchored closer to the shore and be more visible) brought ''Minnesota'' into the first squadron, replacing her as second squadron flagship with ''Louisiana.''
280
281Besides ''Texas,'' ''Iowa'' and the ''Indiana''s, the ''Mississippi''-class battleships were also left out of the fleet because they were slow and underpowered next to the rest of the fleet (a brief fashion for reducing the cost of battleships led Congress to approve "second class battleships" that were smaller and slower than the rest of the fleet, something the Navy did not appreciate; the ''Mississippi''-class ships spent only two years in U.S. service and were sold to Greece to finance the construction of a new dreadnought.
282[[/folder]]
283
284[[folder: The Fast Carrier Task Force]]
285In January of 1944, the United States Navy created a formation where the centerpiece of its striking power was not battleships but aircraft carriers. While this was not exactly new (Japan had done it from the beginning of the war with the Combined Fleet's ''Kido Butai''), the amount of firepower concentrated was. The Fast Carrier Task Force stood up in January centered around the aircraft carriers ''Enterprise'' (''Yorktown'' class), ''Yorktown'', ''Essex,'' ''Intrepid,'' and ''Bunker Hill'' (''Essex'' class). By the end of 1944 it consisted of 14 American and 4 British aircraft carriers (carrying approximately 1,100 aircraft), and it was among the most powerful concentrations of naval firepower in the history of the world. The fast carrier task force brought Japan to its knees in a year and a half.
286[[/folder]]
287
288[[folder: Carrier Battle/Strike Groups]]
289After the end of World War II, with no significant naval opposition left, the US Navy reformed its combat doctrine into fast, flexible squadrons of warships: The carrier battle group (carrier ''strike'' group after 2004). Whether their name includes the word battle or strike, they are built around a single aircraft carrier (and typically are referred to by the name of their carrier as much as their ordinal number; for example, Carrier Strike Group 11, composed as of 2021 of the aircraft carrier USS ''Nimitz'' (CVN 68), its embarked Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17), and Destroyer Squadron 23 (DESRON 23) would be referred to on radio as "''Nimitz'' Strike Group"). The equivalent in the amphibious fleet is the Amphibious Ready Group, but [=ARGs=] differ in that their assigned ships are all designed around the amphibious assault role, and any attached warships are a separate command under their own officers.
290[[/folder]]
291
292!!!Aircraft
293If you're wondering, aircraft designations are: F for Fighter, A for Attack, B for Bomber, C for Cargo, E for Electronic warfare, H for Helicopter, K for tanKer, M for special Missions, V for [=VTOL=], U for Utility, Q for unmanned drone, and in the case of the WWII planes, P for Pursuit. Before 1962, the US Navy had a separate designation system: One to three function letters, a sequence number indicating which design it was, and a manufacturer letter, followed by a dash and a digit to communicate which variant it was. The [=McDonnell=] F-4 Phantom II, for example, entered service as the [=F4H=]-2 (Fourth fighter design by [=McDonnell=] Aircraft Corporation, second variant). The first design of each manufacturer omitted the sequence number, and somewhat confusingly, the same aircraft built by different manufacturers had a different designation (the Vought Corsair, for example, was built as [=F4U=] (fourth fighter airplane by the Vought company), [=F3A=] (third fighter airplane by Brewster Aeronautical Corporation), and FG (First fighter airplane by Goodyear - yes, the rubber company)). Most single-digit numbers under the post-1962 system were taken up by redesignated Naval aircraft, while their Air Force counterparts mostly continued to use the same designations as before, with one significant exception which we will get to.
294
295[[folder:WWII-era Aircraft]]
296* The '''Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress''' bomber was the star of the city-bombing raids the Air Corps executed upon Germany and German-occupied territories (as depicted ''rather'' accurately in ''Film/MemphisBelle''), destroying the industries within and transport links through them through the destruction of the cities themselves (blocking the railways and roads with rubble). There they were, hundreds of fat, juicy sitting ducks for the German anti-aircraft crews, not even bothering to try evasive maneuvers (which would throw them off course from their target). But the B-17 had an almost mythic ability to withstand damage and keep flying. Every B-17 crew member had at least one story of returning to base safely without a vertical tail, or with half a wing blown off, or on one engine, etc. etc.
297* The '''B-24 Liberator''' was the other US heavy bomber of WWII. While not as pretty or famous as the B-17, the B-24 could carry a larger bomb load faster and farther, and was more numerous (with about 6,000 more built). Of course the lighter structure and unusual Davis wing that gave it that performance edge also made it a more fragile aircraft, with far less stories of B-24s coming home with big chunks missing. This seemed to have a deleterious effect on its popularity.
298* The '''B-25 Mitchell''' was a medium bomber, meaning it could carry smaller loads less far than its heavy counterparts, but could also be built in much greater numbers. It was also very rugged, and more B-25s survive than any other bomber of the era.
299* The '''Republic P-47 Thunderbolt''' was the largest single-engine fighter of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, known as the "Jug" on account of its shape. Gained 3,752 air-to-air kills (3,499 were lost to all causes). Seriously, seriously rugged. One pilot, Robert S. Johnson, sustained serious damage to his aircraft over France on 26 June 1943 -- including a fire. Unable to open his canopy, he managed to regain control. He heads for the channel, then gets a German FW-190 fighter (probably [[AcePilot ace Egon Mayer]], who was killed by another Thunderbolt after reaching 102 kills) arrive and empty his entire machine-gun capacity at the American pilot, who tries to move around a bit, but doesn't really succeed. The aircraft still stays going and the German leaves, saluting him by rocking his wings. Johnson gets back to the UK, lands safely and counts the bullet holes. After getting to 200 without even moving around the aircraft -- he gave up. [[http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_rsj.html Seriously]].
300* The '''North American P-51 Mustang''' is a fighter aircraft that must be mentioned any time you are talking about anything concerning WWII US aircraft. This beast went from proposal to flying prototype in under four months -- a tremendous feat of engineering. The laminar-flow airfoil wing reduced drag and gave it outstanding high altitude performance when married to the high-performance supercharged Rolls Royce Merlin engine, which could get the Mustang up to 437 mph and up to 41,900 ft. It flew like a dream and could fly an escort mission to Berlin and Back, plus a dogfight or two. It was the main aircraft of the Tuskegee Airmen, who used it to great effect; having a [[NoseArt red-tailed]] Mustang escort you meant you were gonna live. Mustangs claimed the highest amount of air-to-air kills by ''any'' Allied fighter in WWII (nearly ''5,000'') and lost about 2,520 of their number -- almost a two-to-one kill ratio. Cadillac of the Skies indeed.
301** The last Mustang in US military service was decommissioned in the late 1950s. The last Mustang in military service anywhere in the world was retired from the Dominican Air Force in ''1984''.
302* Let us not forget the Lockheed '''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_Lightning P-38 Lightning]]'''. It was originally meant to be a short-range, heavily armed interceptor -- a flying anti-aircraft gun, if you will. Lockheed was initially planning on a limited run of the planes (based on the initial proposal, they expected that they would be constructing a mere 50 Lightnings), but the Air Force was suitably impressed with the performance of the prototype XP- and YP-38s that they saw fit to expand both its role in the war and the number of Lightnings to be constructed. In addition to becoming one of the first truly multi-role fighter planes -- while its primary role was escort and interception, it also took part in dive-bombing, level-bombing, ground-attack, and photo-reconnaissance missions -- it was also the plane used to "get Yamamoto". The Germans referred to it as the "Forked-tailed Devil".
303* On the Navy side, the '''Grumman [=F4F=] Wildcat''' has a poor reputation due to being overmatched by Japanese [=A6M=] Zero in the early stages of the war. That being said, the Wildcat ended the war with a positive K/D ratio of approximately 6.9:1 (and 5.9:1 even by 1942). As American pilots developed strategies to deal with the Zero (in part thanks to pilots like John "Jimmy" Thach), the Wildcat held the line for the U.S. Navy at Coral Sea and Midway until the newer planes were deployed. It would also see service with the British as the "Martlet". The Wildcat would see service throughout the war, mostly on escort carriers despite the presence of newer planes, with some even participating in Battle off Samar, where Taffy 2 and 3's Wildcats strafed the Japanese task force and even made "dry" runs after they had run out of ammunition.
304* The '''Grumman [=F6F=] Hellcat''' was the long-awaited successor to the Wildcat, making its combat debut in September 1943. Though it initially faced competition from Vought [=F4U=] Corsair, the U.S. Navy chose the Hellcat for its superior handling characteristics at low speed, which made it easier for pilots to land it on a carrier. Though it was still out-performed by the Zero in certain characteristics (namely turning ability), the Hellcat would go on to destroy over 5,200 enemy aircraft between its service with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, and the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It would account for approximately 75% of aerial victories by the U.S. Navy and 56% of aerial victories by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines. It also had a tremendous line-up of American aces, accounting for 305 (though partially because of the lacking Japanese training by this point of the war). It would also participate in the iconic Battle of the Philippine Sea. As the war progressed, the Hellcat also pulled double-duty as a ground-attack aircraft. As of the Korean War, drones made from the Hellcat would be used to attack bridges.
305* The '''Vought [=F4U=] Corsair''' is almost neck-and-neck with the P-51 Mustang in many specifications. However, Navy pilots found it hard to land on a carrier (where it picked up names like "Bent-Wing Widow Maker"). In February 1943, the Corsair was given the Marines, who used to great effect during battles like Guadalcanal. Apart from air-superiority, the Corsair was used for great effect in a fighter-bomber role, especially during beach landings. Notably, most iconic pictures of the Corsair include a bulged canopy which was an improvement that the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pioneered; the original American design used a birdcage canopy. The redesignated [=AU-1=] Corsair would go on to be used as a night-fighter and ground-attack aircraft in the Korean War.
306* The U.S. Navy dive-bomber '''Douglas SBD Dauntless''' arguably changed the course of World War II over the course of approximately five minutes. Namely, the "Slow But Deadly" takes credit for sinking all four the ''Kido Butai's'' carriers present at the Battle of Midway (the ''Akagi'', ''Kaga'', ''Soryu'', and (later that day) the ''Hiryu''). At approximately 10:25 on June 4, 1942, 47 Dauntlesses managed to take the Japanese carriers by surprise (with the help of TBD Devastators distracting the Japanese combat air patrol). By the end of that attack, three of the Japanese carriers would find themselves fatally wounded, and ''Hiryu'' proved unable to repel the American carriers alone. It would also serve the U.S. Navy during the Battle of Guadalcanal and other battles, where it was the U.S. Navy's primary anti-shipping tool. In fact, the Dauntless sunk more shipping in the Pacific than any other Allied bomber. Unfortunately, as the war went on, the Dauntless would find it lacked the speed to keep up with the newer Hellcat and the TBF Avenger. Notably, some sources record the Dauntless has having a positive K/D in terms of ''aerial'' victories as well, despite it being a bomber.
307* The successor '''Curtiss [=SB2C=] Helldiver''' struggled to replace the SBD Dauntless, let alone replicate its success. Some of its problems can be traced back to the Navy requesting an astounding 880 changes, which resulted in a 42% weight increase. On the other hand, the Helldiver found itself with issues like having less range than the Dauntless it was ostensibly replacing, poor handling characteristics, and being underpowered (earning itself nicknames like "Beast" and "Son of a Bitch, Second Class"). While a replacement powerplant eventually solved most of these issues, the progress of technology found the entire concept of a dive-bomber being less attractive than initially (especially rocket-based attacks, which did not require a steep dive and could be done by a [=F6F=] Hellcat, who could also beat off enemy fighters afterwards as well). Nonetheless, the Helldiver can claim partial credit for the sinking of the Japanese ''Musashi'' and ''Yamato''.
308* The U.S. Navy '''Douglas TBD Devastator''' was one of the unluckier planes in the U.S. WWII arsenal. Unlike the Wildcat and the Dauntless which it served alongside (which entered U.S. Navy service in 1940), the Devastator would be introduced in 1935. By the time it was required to go against the Japanese, it would be a slow, vulnerable torpedo bomber that would be asked to fly at a mere 115 mph (despite its maximum speed of 206 mph) and make a "long and slow" attack run at straight-and-level at enemy ships. Unsurprisingly, this made the Devastator an easy target for enemy anti-air guns. In addition to this, the Mark 13 torpedo had numerous faults.[[note]]A later study would find a fault rate ''greater'' than 100% because torpedoes would often have multiple errors at the same.[[/note]] At the Battle of Midway, the Devastator's service would come to an ignominious end when a mere six (of the forty-one present) would make it back to their carriers, with no results to show for their sacrifice. The Devastator was immediately withdrawn from active service after Midway.
309* The successor '''Grumman TBF Avenger''' would fare significantly better than its predecessor Devastator. Part of this was due to the general scrutiny of U.S. torpedoes, which would continually improve the Mark 13 torpedo. In fact, the Mark 13 torpedo was eventually improved so that it could be dropped in a slight dive, at a height of 800 feet, and a maximum speed of 260 mph, all of which had not been available as an option to the Devastator. In addition to being a modern plane, the Avenger would go on to serve very well in the U.S. Navy's arsenal, including being the primary attacker in multiple operations (including service off of escort carriers) and notably is often the focus of late-war attacks (as seen when sinking the ''Yamato'')
310[[/folder]]
311
312[[folder:First- and Second-Generation Jet Aircraft]]
313* The '''F-86 Sabre''' The last great hurrah of the machine-gun-armed fighters (subsequent famous gunfighters, such as the F-8 Crusader, used 20mm cannon as their primary weapon), it was produced by North American Aviation (see above re: P-51 Mustang) and proved instrumental in American air superiority during the Korean War. The F-86's weapons load was the same six .50-calibre AN/M2 machine guns used by its predecessor, the P-51. KDA ratios cannot be adequately established as both West and East were prone to misreporting, but what cannot be denied is that the Sabre came out the better against the [=MiG-15=]. It is the most-produced American airframe, with almost 10,000 of them manufactured. It was retired from American service in 1965; the final combat-ready Sabres, serving in Bolivia, soldiered on until ''1994''.
314* The second generation of US jet fighter designed was ushered in with the North American F-100; because of the F-100's obvious familial resemblance to its slower predecessor it was called the '''Super Sabre''' by its manufacturer (but most frequently referred to as the '''Hun''' by its pilots). The Hun ushered in a rapid succession of increasingly technologically-advanced aircraft by many different manufacturers that straddled the second and third generation: The [=McDonnell=] F-101 Voodoo, Convair F-102 and F-106 delta-winged fighters (officially "Delta Dart" and "Delta Dagger," unofficially the "Deuce" and the "Six"), Lockheed F-104 Starfighter ("Zipper" or "Zip-104," dubbed by its manufacturer the 'Missile with a Man In It'), Republic F-105 Thunderchief ("Thud"), as well as several planes that were proposed but never built in number: The Republic XF-103; North American XF-107 and XF-108; and the Bell XF-109. The last "Century Series" plane was the F-111 Aardvark, a fighter-bomber that could be considered the first ''fourth''-generation aircraft. The next-to-last? We'll get to it in a moment...
315[[/folder]]
316
317[[folder:Third-Generation Jet Aircraft]]
318* The [=McDonnell=] Douglas '''F-4 Phantom II''' succeeded the Sabre as the American ruler of the skies. Designed initially as a fighter-bomber, it was reworked as an all-weather long-range interceptor when the A-4 Skyhawk rolled into service. Designed and introduced into the Navy as the F4H-1 (fourth fighter design by [=McDonnell=] Aircraft, first variant). A two-person plane, the back seat was intended for a Radar Intercept Officer. It boasted nine hardpoints for the newly-invented guided missiles, and could attack with them from beyond visual range but -- crucially -- the plane had no integrated gun. This proved a problem during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, where the plane was often fielded against second-generation [=MiG=]s, which could typically outmaneuver the Phantom. Nonetheless, the plane was brutally effective, a FlyingBrick relying on engine power and a hastily-added external gun pod to maintain combat superiority. The JackOfAllStats of American aviation, it was deployed by the Air Force, the Navy ''and'' the Marines over the skies of Vietnam in just about every mission imaginable. It was even flown by ''both'' the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels. It entered service with several non-American air forces as well, and was finally retired from American service in 1996; highly specialized F-4G variants replaced the F-105 Thunderchief in the [[UsefulNotes/WildWeasel suppression of enemy air defenses]] role, until improved electronics and stores management allowed the "Wild Weasel" package to fit onto "vanilla" fighters. It remains in service with Iran, Japan, South Korea, Greece, and Turkey. It was introduced briefly into the Air Force in 1961 as the F-110A Spectre (making it the penultimate Century Series fighter), but after the unification of designation systems in 1962 the F-110 disappeared, becoming the F-4C.
319* The Douglas '''A-4 Skyhawk''' led the close-air-support fight in Vietnam. It was so small that its wings did not need to be folded for storage aboard an aircraft carrier. Despite this, it was swift, nimble and could easily get its ordnance on target. This made it an extremely valuable prospect on the export market; the final customer to buy them, Brazil, did so in ''2017'', and plan to keep using them until 2025. In the meanwhile, the plane served in the Blue Angels (replacing the F-4 -- it needed a ''lot'' less fuel), as was flown by instructors pretending to be Russians in the TOPGUN flight school -- yes, ''that'' Film/TopGun; it's one of 3 planes featured in the film. It finally retired from American service in 2003.
320* The Lockheed '''SR-71 Blackbird''' is not a fighter, though it certainly looks cool enough to be one. It is, instead, a reconnaissance aircraft. While a lot of recon aircraft do their jobs by going very high and then drifting along at slow speed, HidingInPlainSight via distance and low engine emissions. The SR-71 does it by going very high and then going FastAsLightning, to the point that wind friction left it untouchably hot upon landing. For virtually all of its service life, there simply was no missile, air or ground-launched, that could overtake it from behind. Retired in 1998, it is ''still'' the holder of several world records, including one it set ''on its retirement flight'' by getting from Los Angeles to Washington DC in just over 64 minutes.
321[[/folder]]
322
323[[folder:Fourth Generation Jet Fighters]]
324In the 1960s, the Pentagon decided to take a new tactic in its aircraft design and deployment. Secretary of Defense Robert [=McNamara=] was an avid fan of "joint-service" solutions, feeling that standardizing around a single type significantly reduced development costs (the same philosophy was used in the adoption of the M-16 assault rifle). Lending credence to his case was the dominance of the F-4 Phantom, though it had its weak points. The final straw were the rumors out of Moscow told of the upcoming [=MiG=]-25 Foxbat, and the accompanying grainy photographs suggested a very fast and very maneuverable aircraft.[[note]]It was actually a dedicated "interceptor" with little or no maneuverability; the huge wings were merely to keep it from falling out of the sky, as we found out when a Soviet pilot defected with one to Japan. Of course, it still flew high and fast enough to be difficult to catch.[[/note]]\
325\
326This being the military, attempts to rectify this progressed in several different directions at once. The most immediate, cheapest, and arguably most effective was the establishment of the Air Force's "Red Flag" and Navy's "TOPGUN" flight schools, teaching aviators how to defend against aircraft with vastly different flight characteristics. The second was the "Tactical Fighter eXperiment" program, intended to produce a single fighter which could outfly and outfight the Phantom, serving the Navy as a high-altitude interceptor launched from carriers ''and'' the Air Force as a low-level attack aircraft launched from runways. Both services had enough brains to realize that any plane capable of doing both missions at once would have to be made of lollipops and pixie dust, and begged to just open a program for individual planes, but [[ExecutiveMeddling McNamara pushed the program through]]. The resulting aircraft, the F-111 Aardvark, fulfilled the Air Force's requirements well enough but failed to enter service in the Navy on account of being too heavy to land on carrier decks.\
327\
328This left openings on Navy ''and'' Air Force runways for a fighter/interceptor which could shoot down high-altitude Soviet bombers at long ranges (i.e., "win World War III"). To fill them, the Navy and Air Force were finally allowed to open separate programs (VFX at sea, FX on land) for large, powerful air-superiority aircraft, yielding the F-14 Tomcat (Navy) and the F-15 Eagle (USAF). ''This'' led to the Lightweight Fighter program. A number of aviators and aircraft designers felt that the Tomcat and Eagle were too large to be agile dogfighters, and that the expensive radar systems made them too expensive to risk in tricky operations. ([[AndZoidberg Nobody cared about the F-111.]]) In addition, quite a few of the previous generation of "strike fighters" had been lost to attrition in Vietnam (including ''half'' of the production-run-of-800 F-105 Thunderchiefs). Long story short, the Air Force wanted something small and cheap to fill their strike squadrons with -- something that could be thrown at high-risk targets with impunity, do a bit of light dogfighting on the side, and maybe (due to the lack of high-tech avionics) tear it up on the export market, helping defray the large R&D costs. While originally the LWF program was Air Force only, winning them the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Navy found the losing plane to their liking, and modified the YF-17 into the F/A-18 Hornet of today.\
329\
330The original intent was a winged version of SwordAndSorcerer: the big beefy air-superiority fighters (F-14s and F-15s) would sweep the skies while the smaller strike fighters (F-16s and F/A-18s) slid in to pound ground targets and engage in close-range dogfights as necessary. This later became muddled, as micronized avionics made the "little" planes effective air-superiority fighters in their own right, and improved radars and various targeting pods made effective strike fighters out of the big planes. But the end result are four classic American fighters, three of which are still in service today.
331* The '''Grumman F-14 Tomcat''', the Navy's version of the air-superiority fighter, was a carrier-based interceptor that was famous for starring in ''Film/TopGun''. It was retired in 2006 in favor of the Super Hornet. Designed to defend US carrier groups against bomber attack, it acquired an air-to-ground role late in its career, taking on the nickname "Bombcat" as it did so. The fighter's calling card are its "variable geometry" or "swing" wings, which (controlled by onboard computers) move back and forth from almost-straight-sideways to way-swept-back depending on how fast the plane is trying to go. The F-14 project took many of its parts and pieces from the cancelled F-111B, including its engines, missiles, and swing-wing configuration. The plane was in fact built around the ability to fire the F111-B's AIM-54 Phoenix long range air-to-air missile. The US never actually shot anything down with that missile (it was designed for use against Russian bombers), but the sole country to which the F-14 was exported has made use of it. Shortly after delivery, that country had a revolution and is now quite hostile to the United States. That's right, we sold Tomcats to ''UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}''.\
332\
333Sadly, this fact was partially what motivated the Department of Defense to not only retire the Tomcat but to [[ShootTheDog completely destroy nearly all the retired planes]]: this way Iran doesn't have access to the parts needed to maintain their own F-14 fleet. Iran has boasted that they've developed their own maintenance programs, and there are rumors that corrupt individuals may be supplying them with smuggled scraps to replace what can't be repaired. In the meanwhile, though, those Iranian F-14s tore it up during the Iran-Iraq war of TheEighties. Iran's claims of fifty-ish kills on Iraqi [=MiGs=], to one combat loss, are disputed -- American F-14s have scored five aerial victories, total -- but it's worth noting that whenever Iraqi pilots saw F-14s during Operation Desert Storm, their unanimous reaction was to ''[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere turn tail and flee]]''. The F-14 is also notable for being the platform of the most recent RealLife [[AcePilot Flying Ace]] -- a pilot who has scored five aerial victories; it was one of those Iranians in the 80s -- as well as the most-recent ''fictional'' Flying Ace, as Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Creator/TomCruise) shot down two aircraft in (what must have been) a stolen Iranian bird during ''Film/TopGunMaverick''.
334* The '''[=McDonnell=] Douglas F-15 Eagle''', the USAF counterpart to the Tomcat, is one of the world's best air superiority fighters: in over thirty years of service, there has been no confirmed [[note]]the Syrians claim to have gotten 3 Israeli birds in late '82, but even on Wikipedia that claim has a "[Citation Needed]" tag[[/note]] case of an F-15 shot down in air-to-air combat, while its various operators have taken down precisely 101 opposing aircraft with it. (The F-15E Strike Eagle is a different story, but it's not the same kind of bird.) Its detractors call it the "Aluminum Tennis Court" for its size, as well as "the triumph of thrust over aerodynamics". It also has the more dubious honor of being the (original) disguise of [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Starscream]].
335** It should also be pointed out that the F-15 is a true LightningBruiser. With four [=AIM120=] [=AMRAAMs=], four [=AIM9=] Sidewinders, AND a gun, it packs quite an offensive punch in a dogfight. It has a positive thrust-to-weight ratio, meaning it can fly ''straight up'', allowing it to climb to altitude faster than any aircraft of its day; it still holds several 'time to climb' records. While all of those might make it sound like a FragileSpeedster, don't forget that an F-15B came home without a wing.[[note]]This occurred in 1983. Read about it [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Negev_mid-air_collision here]][[/note]] The F-15E Strike Eagle takes this even further by adding air-to-ground weapons to the mix, and was often sent out to hunt down and destroy Iraqi SCUD launchers during Desert Storm. During the Cold War, one F-15 was even modified to fire an anti-satellite missile and killed a spy satellite (an aging American one that wasn't working anyway). The reason for this test? With so many Eagles in US service, it was easier to get off a shot at a Soviet satellite when there are dozens of Eagles in the air at any one time, thereby hiding the launch. Good luck doing the same with a ship or land based launcher.
336** Shortly after the F-15 reached its 45th year in service, rumors began swirling about a possible upgrade, which had first been proposed in TheNineties as an alternative to the even-then outlandishly expensive F-22 Raptor. In 2020 the upgrade was announced: The '''F-15EX Eagle II,''' a complete, air superiority-focused refresh of the venerable F-15E Strike Eagle, which for the first time activates the F-15's outboard hardpoints and adds an option for a more complex two-tiered launcher on the already-extant wing rails, raising the F-15's missile payload to a staggering ''sixteen'' air to air missiles, all or almost all the highly-potent medium-to-long-range AIM-120 AMRAAM.
337* The '''General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon''' is the Air Force's version of the light fighter. The first combat aircraft to use true fly-by-wire controls, the "[[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Viper]]" (as its pilots call it) has been the workhorse of the Air Force since the early '80s (during the first Gulf War, the F-16 was used in more sorties than any other Coalition aircraft), and is scheduled to remain in service until the 2020s. It's so versatile that's its also found homes among many foreign air forces, and -- at just shy of 3,000 copies -- it is the second-most-populous aircraft in current military service, and the ''most'' populous that isn't a helicopter. (See below for which helicopter it is.) It can be configured as an interceptor, an air superiority fighter, a strike aircraft, or a close support aircraft, and does all these jobs well. It is the current vehicle for the Air Force's Thunderbirds. The F-16 was featured heavily in the ''Film/IronEagle'' series of films, which could be a positive or a negative, depending on what you think of those movies, and stars in the ''Falcon'' series of [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome brain-breakingly realistic]] flight sims.
338** A note on Fly-By-Wire: most aircraft are designed with "aerodynamic stability," which means that if you let go of the steering wheel, the plane's shape will cause it to drift back into a straight-line heading. (Cars have a similar feature for safety reasons.) The F-16 on the other hand was deliberately designed with aerodynamic ''in''stability; left to its own devices, it will drift ''out of'' a straight-line heading. The FBW computer prevents this by making constant minute adjustments to flaps, ailerons and rudder, which keeps the plane going in the (last) direction its pilot told it to. Why all this trouble? Once you ''tell'' the F-16 to turn, it's off like a rocket; the F-16 can outfly most competitors (a serious advantage in an OldSchoolDogfight) and even its own pilots, who will have passed out from G-forces long before the airframe reaches structural tolerance. In the 21st Century, fly-by-wire is a universal design feature of fighter aircraft, but it was created for the F-16 three decades before they showed up.
339* The '''[=McDonnell=] Douglas F/A-18 Hornet''' is the Navy's and Marine Corps' lightweight air superiority/strike aircraft. (Neither it nor the F-16 is really a ''bomber'', per se: a true bomber's job is really about carpet bombing, and these planes can't even ''carry'' that many munitions. Instead, they do pinpoint strikes on invididual targets.) Like the Falcon, it has served with distinction since being introduced. Like the Falcon, it is also a true workhorse (and has a very high availability due to the designer making "ease of maintenance" a priority) and is even replacing the F-14 at its own job of air combat. It was the "hero" aircraft for the movie ''Film/IndependenceDay'' (partially because the filmmakers could only afford one high-quality CGI model).
340* The '''Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet''', despite the name, is largely a different airframe from the original Hornet, being 20% larger and considerably heavier (Carrier personnel refer to it as the "Rhino" to avoid confusion). It was designed to replace, or "neck down," a number of specialized aircraft carrying out missions the original Hornet couldn't manage[[note]]Namely, the A-6E strike bomber and, via buddy tanking, the KA-6D tanker[[/note]], as well as replace the costly and aging F-14 Tomcat. Currently the top dog among American carrier aircraft, and will be until the F-35C sees widespread use. The Marine Corps have avoided the Super Hornet like the plague, fearing that adoption will cut into funds for the troubled F-35B STOVL variant. It is flown by the Blue Angels, and is the hero plane of ''Film/TopGunMaverick''.
341** Of note is a specialized variation of the Super Hornet called the '''Boeing EA-18G Growler''', designed as a replacement for the aging Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare planes. Since the retirement of the Air Force's electronic warfare plane the General Dynamics/Grumman EF-111A Raven, the Prowler had been pressed into more frequent service than it was intended to fly, and the logistics of maintaining it became difficult. Thus it was retired in favor of the Growler for its better flight performance and easier logistics since it is based on and shares many parts with the Super Hornet, while adapting the Prowler's electronic warfare package. It is often used to fly cover for advancing ground forces and jam enemy communications, particularly useful during counter-insurgency operations where remote-detonated [=IEDs=] are a potential threat.
342[[/folder]]
343
344[[folder:Fifth Generation Jet Fighters]]
345* The '''Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor''' is the world's first combat-ready Fifth Generation fighter, designed during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar in anticipation of newer aircraft being produced by emerging superpowers like Russia and China. The F-22 Raptor is loaded down with the latest aerospace technologies including stealth, thrust vectoring, supercruise (the ability to break the sound barrier without the use of afterburners), as well as the most advanced avionics available. Like the Eagle, the Raptor is designed to be a pure air superiority fighter, and in simulated exercises, it has been shown that a dozen F-22s can shoot down ''hundreds'' of aircraft ''without a single loss''. Simulated[[note]]emphasis on "simulated"[[/note]] dogfights have also shown that America's current premier air superiority fighter, the F-15, can't even touch the F-22. Currently, the Raptor's only apparent disadvantage is its astronomical building cost, which is approximately $138 million, each. Its claim to fame in media is being featured on the front covers of ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' video games ''4'' and ''7''. (''5'' has the F-14; ''Zero'' and ''6'' feature the F-15.)
346** For a long time, there was [[BrokenBase a lot of debate]] about whether or not the F-22 was really needed. The whole "asymmetrical warfare" thing, which has gotten very trendy, involves simply bombing enemy aircraft to bits before they can take off. As such, there is very little need for an air-superiority fighter -- cf the fact that the most recent non-fictional Flying Ace did it in the 80s, back before the F-22 could even claw its way into the sky. So why are we spending gajillions of dollars on an aircraft that is designed to shoot down other planes, something that basically is never done anymore? Recent information on the F-22's contenders (such as the UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets' Su-57) suggest that they'll cost about as much as the F-22, though; we may be out of money, but at least everyone else will be too. And, like the F-15 before it, the F-22 can adapt to other missions, despite the "not one pound for air-to-ground" philosophy shared by both planes. This question was resolved in in the [=2010s=] and [=2020s=], when tensions with foreign peer powers like Russia and China have resulted in the hindsight opinion that the premature shutdown of F-22 production was largely a mistake. (Can we restart production? Yes, [[https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-us-cant-restart-production-of-f22-stealth-fighter-2021-6 but it would be even more expensive than before]], to the point that designing and building a completely new aircraft might be cheaper.)
347* The '''Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II''', aka the Joint Strike Fighter. A new multirole fighter, [[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-35-int.htm co-produced with the UK, and several other nations]]. It's a return to [=McNamara's=] ideal of a single plane serving all branches of the armed forces, and has three different variants: a standard version for the Air Force, a carrier based version for the Navy, and a vertical take off/landing version for the Marine Corps. Like the F-22, it has stealth capability, though not to the Raptor's extent. The USAF intends for the F-35 to fill the "workhorse ground-attack machine" niche the F-16 filled in the Fourth Generation, with the F-22 replacing the F-15 the same way. Though initially billed as a bargain, recent developments suggests that due to delays (including some changes in weapon bay requirements), the plane won't be that much cheaper than the F-22. The estimated initial operating capability date is in the 2016–17 timeframe. By this time, F-35 unit costs have fallen dramatically, with all three variants expected to fall near or below $100 million a pop once they reach full production.
348** Some of the difficulties that have been encountered include: initial tailhook design not performing well, heat delamination from the engines, transonic buffeting, and the operating system for the onboard computer is nowhere near complete. As these have resulted in delays and expensive fixes. It's thought that, before the jet is retired, more than $1 trillion will be sunk into it -- though to be fair it's intended to take the roles of multiple aircraft (F-16, F/A-18, AV-8B) simultaneously and still be in service in the 2060s, and Congress hopes to defray part of the costs by selling the F-35 to other countries. Instead of, y'know, having a more centralized industry for it instead of having a few parts built in every State so as to be "fair". That would drive the cost down dramatically.
349** And no, we don't know why the number skipped from 23 to 35. Even Lockheed thought it would be the F-24. Most likely because the prototype demonstrator vehicle is named X-35 (normally, X-planes are ''not'' prototypes for future operational aircraft; the prototypes normally would have been designated YF-, the Y being a special designator letter for a future aircraft design undergoing pre-service testing), and whoever was in charge of designation just [[http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/nonstandard-mds.html#_MDS_F35 switched the X with F]].
350[[/folder]]
351
352[[folder:Attack Aircraft]]
353* The '''Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk''', also known as the Stealth Fighter despite its ground-attack role (this has happened with several other dedicated American attack aircraft). This was the world's first true stealth aircraft, and was nicknamed "The Wobblin' Goblin" due to how hard it was to fly (another reason it got the F-for-fighter designation: the USAF wanted its {{Ace Pilot}}s at the controls). During the first Gulf War, only 2.5% of the American aircraft in Iraq were F-117As, yet they struck ''more than 40%'' of the strategic targets.\
354\
355However, the Nighthawk has been retired from US service, as the F-22 and B-2 have surpassed it in capability -- unlike those planes, the F-117A can't really defend itself against attacks once discovered, making it a GlassCannon. When a Serbian commander figured out how to modify their radars to lock onto and shoot one down during the [[UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars Kosovo Conflict]], that sounded the death knell for the Nighthawk. It also couldn't carry much ordnance, having only two bomb bays. Nevertheless, it had one hell of a service record, and it has featured in a lot of media because it's a CoolPlane.
356** Despite being officially retired, the planes have not been scrapped. Rather, they have been kept mothballed [[note]] Basically stored partially dis-assembled, but easily restored to active service.[[/note]] in their Nevada hangars. A few have even been spotted flying over the desert in the area. So despite being "retired", the Air Force clearly wants them ready for action.
357* The '''Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II''' takes the opposite approach of the F-117A, being the MightyGlacier of aircraft. She's slow and God bless her, she's uglier than an episode of ''Real Housewives'', but boy does she get the job done. More widely known as "Warthog" or "Hog", the A-10 is designed to kill tanks, armored vehicles--and everyone in them. It can carry up to eight tons of bombs or missiles, but its primary weapon is the [[GatlingGood GAU-8 Avenger Gatling gun]]. A seven-barreled, 30mm cannon with '''UNIMAGINABLE''' [[MoreDakka amounts of dakka]][[note]]Tech Specs: it fires up to seventy rounds per second, each bullet weighing close to a pound ([[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/30mm_5044.jpg Image of it next to a 20oz Coke bottle and a .50 BMG round]]), at 3,250 feet per second muzzle velocity. The ''recoil'' from the gun is more powerful than one of the plane's 2 engines ''at full throttle.''[[/note]]; you do ''not'' want to be on the receiving end of it. If you are, your coffin will probably be about the size of a snuff tin. Note that the A-10 was literally designed around the GAU-8, which is roughly the size of a small sports car.\
358\
359The A-10 is known for being at least as durable as its namesake--it's the closest thing to a flying tank the Air Force has. The A-10 is '''packed''' with [[CrazyPrepared redundant safety systems]]; in terms of durability, she well lives up to her namesake, the aforementioned Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. It can fly with one engine, has a mechanical control system in case the hydraulics fail, self-sealing fuel tanks, and the landing gear can be deployed through just a combination of gravity and air resistance. The engines are mounted high to protect them from debris and dust on rough airstrips (a fact that's become a lifesaver considering how often the USAF has deployed A-10s in the Mid-East). The cockpit itself is literally sheathed in a bathtub of pure titanium, meaning that if the plane is trashed, the pilot most likely won't be. Oh, and there are documented incidents of A-10s flying home using all of these failsafes.
360** There was an exceptional case a few years ago, where an A-10 was struck by a SAM in the left wing. Most of the wing was completely blown out, and the wreckage ''went straight into the engine, which then just spat it out the exhaust and kept on going'', allowing the plane to return to base safely. Now ''that'' is an insanely reliable plane.\
361\
362That's not all. Despite its abilities, [[TheUnfavorite The Air Force never liked it and tried to retire it twice]] (before both Gulf Wars), but has given up on the notion after being proven twice (during said Gulf Wars) that for some missions, durability and firepower are more important than electronics and speed. Currently, the 170-strong fleet is in the process of being extensively upgraded and is expected to be in service well into the 2030s, some 50 years after entering service (that's like P-51 Mustangs--or perhaps more to the point, P-47 Thunderbolts--being kept in service till the 80s). Some have even proposed converting them to [=UCAVs=] (i.e. unmanned drones) after retirement. ''That'' is durability.
363*** They have tried to retire it again recently, but in June 2015 a Senate committee rejected the Air Force's arguments and request chiefly because 1) The USAAF failed to demonstrate that it will result in expense savings 2) The USAAF failed to provide a viable replacement for the tasks accomplished by the A-10 (unmanned drones could not provide proper Close Air Support (CAS) to ground troops and the F-35 JSF was yet to prove its worth). This was on top of a public campaign to save the A-10, which has earned a solid reputation with both [[MemeticBadass civilians]] and [[DeathFromAbove ground troops]].
364*** The reasons for retiring the A-10 have grown steadily more rational over the years. The Warthog's wing payloads are exceeded by newer fighters and planned attack aircraft, and were exceeded by its contemporaries like the F-111 and F-4 at the time of its introduction. The GAU-8, while formidable against light armor and softer targets, has been ineffective against tanks from most angles almost since it was first built; more importantly, flying low to use it exposes the A-10 to short range AA systems, which have gotten much, much more dangerous, as recent conflicts have delivered sophisticated man-portable systems to even relatively small rebel groups. A-10's fabled toughness serves it well, but other candidates for these missions are fully configured to avoid shots instead of withstanding them by striking from safer altitudes and distances; A-10 can do this as well, but has a huge amount of weight on board that is designed for a more primitive form of war. Features like a titanium bathtub and a 30mm cannon with seven barrels have been rendered obsolete by low-weight, high-accuracy smart bombs that can deal with armored and unarmed threats from a safe distance, with a low risk of collateral damage. The TF-34 engines are also underpowered, producing 9 thousand pounds of thrust each at full power. For reference, the F110 engine of the F16 produces 17 thousand pounds of thrust at intermediate power, and 29 thousand with the afterburner.
365*** Players of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' will fondly remember this as the ''Warthog'' scorestreak. This thing well deserved the point requirement to call it in, as the enemy team will most likely die every pass. Fittingly, it's call sign is "Reaper".
366* The '''Lockheed AC-130H Spectre''' and '''AC-130U Spooky''' are the latest in a line of flying artillery bases. As you might have guessed from the designation, it's basically a C-130 transport with lots and ''lots'' of guns. It can carry various combinations of [[MoreDakka miniguns, 40mm cannon, and 105mm howitzers]]. These planes are unusual because all that ordnance is mounted perpendicular to the direction of flight, poking out of the left side. The gunship's signature combat move is the orbital pylon turn, circling counter-clockwise around its target while the crew continuously pours fire on it. Players of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' might recall that this was the plane used in the mission "Death From Above."
367[[/folder]]
368
369[[folder:Attack Helicopters]]
370* The '''Bell AH-1 Cobra''' was America's first true attack helicopter. It was introduced during Vietnam and provided vital close air support, assisted ground forces, and secured landing zones. Not quite as cool, or as powerful as its successor the Apache--but it's still one heck of a capable aircraft, and don't break down nearly as much as the AH-64. The US Marines still use them, as well as their descendants the AH-1W [=SuperCobra=] and AH-1Z Viper.
371* The '''Boeing AH-64 Apache''', as noted above, is the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. It's one of the best in the world. They were so feared in the first Iraq War, that Iraqi soldiers would surrender at the sight of one.
372%%Yes, Iraqi soldiers were surrendering to unmanned recon drones in that war, too, but they did that because the recon drones were spotting for the 127mm and 406mm guns of two ''Iowa''-class battleships. Seeing one meant that death from above would soon follow. There's no need to point this out in the article.
373[[/folder]]
374
375[[folder:Transport Helicopters]]
376* As a note, due to their specific role, transport (or "utility") helicopters are often used by all branches of the US armed forces.
377* The '''Bell UH-1 Iroquois''' is the first helicopter used by US armed forces on a large scale. It debuted during the Vietnam War and over 16,000 of them were built, with dozens of variants. No Vietnam War film was complete without a fleet of UH-1s flying around in the background, most notably the "Ride of the Valkyries" scene from ''Film/ApocalypseNow''. As a result, the UH-1 has become a pop culture icon for America's involvement in the war. As a utility helicopter, the UH-1 was capable of doing literally everything from transport, medevac, reconnaissance, and serving as a mobile weapons platform. The UH-1 has never been retired and still sees service today, though in a much diminished role
378* The '''CH-47 Chinook''' is the bigger, heavier cousin of the UH-1, and served alongside it during the Vietnam War. Originally designed as a troop carrier, the Chinook quickly made a name for itself as a heavy lifter, being able to carry large amounts of heavy equipment and supplies over large distances to remote firebases. Like the UH-1, the Chinook remains in active service today and is primarily used in air assault missions, especially in high altitudes where other helicopters would have trouble reaching. It also maintains its reputation as one of the heaviest lifting helicopters of any Western military.
379* The '''UH-60 Black Hawk''' is the UH-1's official successor as the US armed force's general transport helicopter. Proven to be one of the most reliable and durable transport helicopters around, there's hardly any depiction of a modern war involving the US military that doesn't have a Black Hawk prominently featured somewhere. Like its predecessor, the Black Hawk has dozens of variants that allow it complete just about any task imaginable. The Black Hawk was made famous by the book ([[FilmOfTheBook and later film]]) ''Film/BlackHawkDown'', where two of the namesake helicopters are shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu. It is the most populous military aircraft currently in service, with 3,600 made.
380* The '''CH-53E Super Stallion''' is the Marine Corps' principal heavy-lift helicopter, and the largest and heaviest helicopter used by any western military. A 30-ton monster with ''three'' jet engines powering it, Navy Sailors call it the "Hurricane Maker" due to it's fierce rotor downwash. It can carry more than 50 Marines or 16 tons of cargo over 1,000 miles.
381[[/folder]]
382
383[[folder:Tiltrotor Aircraft]]
384* The '''V-22 Osprey''' is America's (and the world's) first operational military tiltrotor aircraft. The Osprey is a hybrid vehicle, using two large propellers on its wings that can be shifted so they can work as either standard airplane engines or helicopter rotors. This allows it to maintain the vertical/short takeoff and landing capabilties of a helicopter, while benefiting from the cargo capacity and speed of a conventional airplane. This aircraft was a direct response to the botched Iran hostage rescue mission, where the limitations of both conventional planes and helicopters caused the mission to fail. Due to being the first aircraft of its kind, the Osprey was met with much controversy over issues like cost and safety, though they were eventually rectified. It now sees use with both the US Marines and Navy, and has so far held a respectable performance record. The Osprey is also now a contender as a replacement for the President's aging Marine One fleet.
385** There has been a lot of renewed controversy over the V-22 starting in the late 2000s. Key points include engine wear, stability issues, expense, and a rather nasty prop-wash that led to this embarrassing display in New York http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/31/new.york.fleetweek.accident/index.html. It also hasn't helped that the military hasn't been very forthcoming with information, even to their Congress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xubYGMxhOA&feature=endscreen
386[[/folder]]
387
388[[folder:Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)]]
389[=UAVs=] got their start in the mid 1980s, when the CIA and Pentagon were experimenting with reconnaissance drones. Later DARPA funded a project to get it going to build a long endurance drone that could perform recon, ELINT (electronics intelligence), or offensive missions as a cruise missile. Leading Systems, a company in Irvine California, developed the GNAT. However, as other UAV projects were going on at the same time, Congress decided it was funding too many of the same thing and consolidated all UAV projects. Leading Systems was the only one to survive, but it drained them financially in the end. They were later bought out by General Atomics and later branded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
390
391The first UAV to be deployed by the military and show their practical use came in 1995 from the GNAT, known as the Predator. From its success, the concept took off and soon all branches of the military and even some civilian sectors wanted [=UAVs=]. The use of drones however has been under some controversy for a while. The armed version of the Predator has been noted to be one of the first "robots" used in combat to kill someone and that they are desensitizing warfare into a "video game" since they only see what's going on through monitor, even though PTSD does happen with drone pilots. The lettering for aircraft that are [=UAVs=] is Q. They are prepended with the role they intend to fill.
392
393As an aside, [=UAVs=] are not fully autonomous. The most autonomy they have is they can take off, land, and fly through a set of way points. Any payloads they have must be operated manually by the UAV operator.
394
395* The '''General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1 Predator''' is the first widely deployed unmanned aircraft and probably the most famous. Deployed by the US Air Force and CIA, it was originally designated the RQ-1 for reconnaissance as its only payload was a sensor ball with high grade optics and radar mapping. It was first deployed in 1995 in the Balkans for recon missions and later in 2001, the USAF wanted to arm the Predator with a Hellfire missile. The reason being was that while the Predator was out on recon, a pilot would report something but by the time some mission was approved and ready, the target of opportunity had long been gone. Thus if they could get a recon plane to strike targets of opportunity the moment the pilot sees them, it would save the military a lot of trouble. The scary thing about the Predator is that it's relatively quiet and very hard to see once in operational altitudes and strikes often come without any warning as the missiles are supersonic. The USAF gave the title of the drones [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Hunter-Killer]]. The US Army has an upgraded version, the '''MQ-1C Grey Eagle'''.
396* The '''AAI RQ-2 Pioneer''' is a bit of an odd ball in that it actually was deployed before the MQ-1, during the Gulf War. A smaller UAV, it's operated by the Navy and was their workhorse reconnaissance UAV until 2007 when it was replaced.
397* The '''Northrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk''' is a larger, longer endurance reconnaissance UAV operated primarily by the Air Force and Navy. It's pretty pricey compared to the Predator, as it employs a turbofan engine instead of a turboprop one. An upgraded version, the MQ-4C, is in development. NASA also uses this UAV for scientific missions.
398* The '''AAI RQ-7 Shadow''' is a UAV deployed primarily by the US Army and Marines, though foreign militaries also use it. Developed from the RQ-2 Pioneer, it saw action in the Iraqi conflict in 2003 though the desert conditions soon exposed some design issues that needed fixing. The US Army is considering using it along with the MQ-1C to escort attack helicopter teams to act as decoys.
399* The '''Northrup-Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout''' is a helicopter UAV mostly deployed by the US Navy. Its roles are similar to that of the MQ-1, though as a close support role for situational awareness and supply mule for troops on the ground rather than attacking targets of opportunity or scouting. At the moment it has no armed version, but it can be armed.
400* The '''General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper''' is the next generation model of the MQ-1, designed to carry larger payloads and longer endurance. While the US Air Force is its primary user, US Customs and Border Patrol uses it in lieu ground vehicles and other manned aircraft on the US-Mexico Border. NASA also has a variant for scientific missions. Other nations also use the Reaper, though US export restricts them to only the recon version with no provisions to mount weapons.
401* The '''MMIST CQ-10 Snowgoose''' is, so far, the only cargo-centric UAV meant for carrying supplies to special forces. It's also a little strange in that it uses a parasail or autogyro for lift.
402* The '''[=AeroVironment=] RQ-11 Raven''' is a small, handheld UAV that also probably has gained some fame in recent modern warfare games. It's major claim to fame is that it's the most widely deployed UAV in the world with over 19,000 built.
403* The '''Honeywell RQ-16 T-Hawk''' is also another increasingly recognizable UAV, being a tiny drone that uses ducted fan VTOL system for lift. Where it's probably most encountered in fiction is {{VideoGame/Battlefield3}}, where it was abused in multiplayer before patches fixed it.
404* The '''Boeing MQ-25 Stingray''' is one of the newest drones. Unlike other drones on this list, its function is to provide an airborne refueling capability for US Navy aircraft carriers, replacing the long-gone KA-6 Intruders and S-3 Viking aircraft in providing a refueling capacity that doesn't reduce the number of long-range strike aircraft available aboard a carrier. The MQ-25 is expected to deploy for the first time in 2021, after what for modern aircraft is an incredibly short development cycle (contracted in 2016, first flight in 2019).
405[[/folder]]
406
407US military vehicle development and procurement is a frequent source of political contention, as members of Congress (who will often have relevant jobs in their districts, such as their own, riding on the outcome) will argue openly about the necessities of certain platforms and who should build them. A US military budget proposal does not make it out of Congress intact.
408
409The KC-X competition, to provide a replacement for the older examples of the KC-135 Stratotanker air-refueling tanker, is a case in point. The Stratotanker, based on the Boeing 707 airliner, entered service in 1956, and they're already starting to wear out. Replacing them might be a good idea. The original plan to do this, settled on in 2003, involved modified 767s which would enter service in 2006. But investigations discovered corruption was involved, and several people went to prison whilst an aboveboard competition was held. The winner of this competition, anounced in February 2008, was a partnership between Airbus and Northrop Grumman, offering modified Airbus 330-200s. However, a number of US legislators cried foul, possibly because the contract would involve a considerable amount of American dollar going off to foreign economies, never to be seen again. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded the competition had been unfair and recommended yet another re-try. The Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, reopened the competition in a fast-track form in July, but canceled it in September because it could not be completed within the remaining months of the UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush Administration. This left the possibility of later KC-135s remaining in service until 2040, at which time they will be nearly 80 years old. Finally, Gates was able to re-open the competition under the aegis of UsefulNotes/BarackObama. Despite surprises from Ukrainian manufacturer Antonov and the withdrawal of Northrop-Grumman from the Airbus-Northrop-Grumman consortium, a decision was made in February 2011. Boeing will provide new "KC-46A" tankers, which are... modified 767s. The first was delivered in 2019.
410
411American taxpayer dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen.
412
413!!Light 'Em Up Like the Fourth of July: American Weapon Systems
414Like its vehicles, the United States also produces and exports a large variety of different weapon systems. Sometimes they're imitated or reverse-engineered, too. Notable examples include:
415
416[[folder:Firearms]]
417* The '''M2 Browning machine gun''' is one of the longest serving weapons in the history of the American armed forces. Originally developed in 1933, the M2's claim to fame was its ability to fire the heavy .50 caliber bullet on full automatic, giving American infantry and vehicles a serious edge in firepower and armor penetration. During WWII, the M2 was the default weapon for all American aircraft, was regularly mounted on most American ground vehicles, and even had a crew served version. It is so widespread and well regarded in the US military, that it has picked up the AffectionateNickname "Ma Deuce". The M2 has been exported to over a hundred different countries, and is still in service with the US armed forces despite being almost a century old. And it doesn't appear to be going anywhere any time soon.
418* The '''M16 Assault Rifle''' and its variants remain the basis for the US military's standard issue weapon. The M16 was the first true assault rifle developed for the US Army, intended to replace older guns like the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, BAR, and M14 Battle Rifle. The M16 was revolutionary in many aspects, such as using a high velocity 5.56mm intermediate round rather than the heavier 7.62mm rifle rounds its predecessors used, having an all steel and polymer construction, and used the brand new direct impingement system. What resulted was a very lightweight weapon that could maintain a high rate of fire with low recoil, while the ammunition could still prove lethal on hits. While the M16 initially had teething problems during its first deployment in the Vietnam War, several improvements and modifications turned it into one of the reliable and effective infantry weapons ever wielded by the United States. The M16 also popularized the use of intermediate caliber rounds, particulary the 5.56mm which has become the NATO standard caliber. Today, the M16 lives on dozens of derivatives, variants, and copies sold to or manufactured in over 80 countries worldwide and has become a symbol of America's military reach.
419[[/folder]]
420
421[[folder:Air-to-Air Missiles]]
422* The '''AIM-9 Sidewinder''' series is a family of short ranged[[note]] and by short ranged we mean .6 miles, minimum[[/note]], IR-guided air-to-air missiles that have been very widely exported (the Soviet K-13A/AA-2 "Atoll" was a copy too, although some consider the usual story of its creation--a Sidewinder getting stuck in a Chinese aircraft--an UrbanLegend) and progressively improved since it first saw service in ''1953.'' The latest variant, the AIM-9X, is an entirely new weapon using an improved variant of the familiar AIM-9 airframe, an all-new motor, tail fin/vectored thrust steering, and an imaging infrared tracker that is much harder to spoof than the original.
423* The '''AIM-7 Sparrow''' series was the first American radar-guided air-to-air missile with "beyond visual range" capabilities. Originally guided entirely by the launching plane's radar, the Vietnam War proved that a missile requiring you to [[FailedASpotCheck Fail Spot Checks]] is somewhat unwise. Successive upgrades, including a major upgrade to a semi-active guidance system, turned the missile platform into a serious powerhouse, but it has been phased out in favor of the AIM-120c AMRAAM. The last AIM-7s remain in service with the Air National Guard, where it remains a useful weapon for defensive missions and is less complex and expensive than the AIM-120.
424* The '''AIM-54 Phoenix''' series was a long ranged, actively radar-guided[[note]]It had its own miniature radar built in and would guide itself to the target without the launching pilot's supervision; this is the source of the term "Fire and forget"[[/note]], designed with the express purpose of shooting down Soviet long-range bombers. Originally developed for the scrapped F-111, the [[Film/TopGun F-14 Tomcat]] was built around a requirement to carry up to six of these missiles. The extreme expense (and weight!) of each missile, the Soviet nuclear doctrine moving towards sub-launched and land-based ballistic missiles, the pending retirement of the F-14, and the AIM-120c more efficiently covering medium-range uses led to the AIM-54 being retired from the US arsenal in 2004 with a total of two missiles fired in combat and zero targets shot down. The only combat use seen by the platform was by Iran during the Iraq-Iran War of the '80s.
425* The '''AIM-120 AMRAAM''' series (commonly referred to by military writers as the ''Slammer'') is a series of actively radar guided air-to-air medium-range missiles that, much like the Sidewinder, have been exported worldwide. The direct replacement for the Sparrow, the missile has seen limited (but very successful) use in multiple conflicts.
426** Despite its name ("AMRAAM" stands for '''A'''dvanced '''M'''edium '''R'''ange '''A'''ir-to-'''A'''ir '''M'''issile), the latest versions (AIM-120C-7 and AIM-120D) have almost fully rebuilt the range lost when the Phoenix was retired.
427[[/folder]]
428
429[[folder:Man Portable Systems]]
430* The '''FIM-92 Stinger''' is a man-portable shoulder fired air to surface missile that has been in service since 1981. During the Cold War, the United States recognized the threat that Soviet helicopters and ground attack aircraft posed to their ground forces, so the Stinger was developed to allow infantry to defend themselves against aerial attack. The Stinger is a infrared missile, which means it will automatically target any heat sources it detects, which allows soldiers to fire it and take cover to avoid retaliation. The Stinger first made a name for itself during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when the US Government supplied Afghan rebels with Stingers, allowing them to shoot down the Soviet attack helicopters that were previously hunting them down. Due to its role in neutering Soviet air superiority, the Stinger is commonly attributed to being at least party responsible for the Soviet Union's eventual retreat from Afghanistan. Afterwards, the Stinger has been seen or used in various conflict zones around the world.
431* The '''FGM-148 Javelin''' is an anti-tank missile recently developed in 1996 to allow US soldiers to engage the most modern enemy armor from long range. With an infrared seeker, the Javelin missile is able to detect and lock on to heat sources on its own without additional guidance from the gunner. Once fired, the missile can either fly in a "direct attack" or "top attack" mode. In "direct attack" mode, the missile flies in a flat trajectory like a standard missile. However, in "top attack" mode, the missile flies high in the air so it can arc down to attack its target from above, since almost all armored vehicles have their thinnest armor on the top of the vehicle. This makes the Javelin incredibly effective for its size, as it can take out tanks at ranges only crew served anti-tank weapons are capable of. While it was rather prominently used by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Javelin became world famous during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when the US sent shipments of Javelins to Ukraine to defend its capital of Kyiv. Javelin proved to be one of the weapons that served a pivotal role in breaking the siege around Kyiv, and was revered to the point where people sympathetic to Ukraine spread images of "[[MemeticMutation Saint Javelin]]"[[note]]A parody of Mary Magdalene holding a Javelin launcher in the style of an Eastern Orthodox painting.[[/note]]. At least for Ukraine, the Javelin has become the universal symbol of resistance.
432[[/folder]]
433
434!!The US Armed Forces in Fiction
435The United States military have been depicted in a massive amount of fiction, ranging from war movies to comedy to romance to detective dramas. Like with the United States itself, there are [[{{Eagleland}} two basic depictions]], with some room in the middle.
436
437The first type are the heroic 'patriots', willing to fight against the odds to ensure victory for Uncle Sam and freedom, justice, Mom, baseball, and apple pie. These are common for films about, say, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution or UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
438
439The second are as nationalistic imperialists, willing to crush the little guy to ensure profits for Uncle Sam and his corporate cronies, get drugged up, and kill people for fun. Much more common for films about UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.
440
441The middle ground is filled with pitiable soldier-victims, who remain sympathetic despite doing (very) bad things. Depictions leaning closer to the second type will instead paint the war as unjust and the ''leaders'' as corrupt (no matter which war it was): ''Rambo: First Blood'', all Vietnam films, some modern UsefulNotes/WorldWarII films ... you get the idea. Often the rank and file are [[RedShirts cannon fodder]] under [[TheNeidermeyer incompetent officers]].
442
443Another common depiction of American forces is that since they are generally considered the most powerful military on Earth, some properties will include the American military solely to have them [[CurbstompBattle completely curbstomped]] to show off [[TheWorfEffect how powerful whatever curbstomped them is]] whether it be superpowered individuals, aliens, kaiju, terrorist superweapons, and anything in between.
444
445Different branches have different stereotypical images in fiction, too:
446* The Army is the most "average" branch. If the military force in work is not specified as anything other than military ground troops with rifles (aka infantry), it's likely to be the Army. TheSquad, DrillSergeantNasty, and the BandOfBrothers are likely to be Army enlisted. Army officers can range from complete idiots to compentent leaders.
447* The Navy is the most "conservative" branch; where they stick to their own nautical traditions (complete with incomprehensible lingo) and look down with contempt on all others (except the Marines and occasionally the Coast Guard.) Don't think for a second that Air Force pilots are the cool guys flying jets from Aircraft Carriers: those guys are "Naval Aviators". Naval officers are generally seen in an OfficerAndAGentleman light: erudite, thoughtful, educated in science and math, interested in strategy and military theory. Enlisted sailors aren't as common in fiction, but are often stereotyped as [[TheDrunkenSailor alcoholics]] who claims to have a girl in every port who likes to tell SeaStories.
448* The Marine Corps are usually depicted as the most "military" branch, with [[JustFollowingOrders emphasis on order and discipline]]. Although they may look like the Army, what separates the Marines from the Army is their use of naval terminology and all Marines (always a capital "M") have a huge degree of pride in their own service and its achievements (all other so-called "armed services" are nothing but worthless maggots). However, there are cases of intelligent retired Marines (there are no such thing as "ex-marines", unless you get a "Dishonorable Discharge"), such as [[Series/{{CSINY}} Mac Taylor]], [[Series/{{NCIS}} Jethro Gibbs]] and Literature/JackRyan.
449* The Air Force is often falsely depicted as if it only had pilots; in reality, they only make up about 4% of the Air Force's personnel. The rest are mechanics, technicians and other categories of personnel (military and civilian) needed to keep it all running. The Air Force and its service members are often portrayed as MildlyMilitary (not slackers, but more like police officers and firefighters in attitude) in comparison with the other services, and their facilities are often cleaner and more modern than the others. This somewhat egalitarian approach is true in real life as well, if only because the usual combat dynamics are reversed -- the officers are the ones fighting (piloting) on the frontlines and the enlisted are not. This stereotype is not ''quite'' true, however, as planes with more than two crew members usually have a number of enlisted operators aboard (two-crew aircraft, such as fighters and the B-2 bomber, have two officers, usually a pilot and a weapon systems officer).
450* The Coast Guard doesn't get featured all that much; not entirely surprising given that they are the smallest of the service branches. When they are portrayed in fiction, it's sometimes as a [[MildlyMilitary "hybrid military/police/rescue service"]], either catching criminals on the high seas, assisting the Navy; but they're most likely to appear in works when they're doing search and rescue work, especially the sort that involves dangling on a cable from an orange and white helicopter.
451* The National Guard has traditionally been depicted in fiction as weekend warriors who are called in to assist in various civil emergencies. In the last decade, due to the overseas conflicts in the Middle East, they have been portrayed as brave citizen soldiers filling in for the overstretched regular Army.
452* Special Operations units will usually be depicted as a separate breed compared to everyone else. They're either depicted as badasses, or they are [[WorfEffect handed a red shirt to demonstrate just how deadly the villain is]].
453* Since the Space Force was only established in 2019, it's too new to have any significant appearances in fiction.
454
455!!Culture of the American Military
456All armed forces have their own subcultures, it's just that the US military's is very well-recorded. American aircraft nose-art is a well-known subject, especially of the PinUp variety.
457
458There is a massive amount of US military slang (including [[UnusualEuphemism a worrying number of terms]] on the subject of self-pleasuring), some of which has entered non-military use. "Boomer", for example, is the US slang term for a ballistic missile submarine (because it fires things that go "boom"), which is used in the AtomicHate category.
459
460Also, while many other militaries have traditional marching songs, the US military [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_cadence sings while it runs]], too. No one is sure exactly where or when it started, but "Jody calls" were introduced to the US military when it was fully racially integrated, just after the Korean War, and some sources suggest it may go back further than that. Black noncoms taught running songs based on the traditional call-and-response black Gospel songs of the Deep South to white recruits, and it proved so popular that they've been doing it for almost sixty years now. "Jody calls" are as a rule often not especially politically correct; critics note that many consist largely of [[http://www.twitfall.com/assorted-twits/military/funny-cadence/ bloodthirsty boasting]], but then again, if anyone's entitled to sing about how tough they are, it's them. Some US police academies have also adopted the tradition. One incidental aspect of Jody calls is in using breath to both run and sing, further increasing the work done in aerobic exercise.
461
462Singing also applies not just to "Jody Calls," but to the fighter pilot community as well--especially among those in the Air Force. Most of these are [[http://familymeetingplace.com/racers/songbk.htm bawdy drinking songs]], though there are exceptions, and many are UsefulNotes/VietnamWar vintage or older--but the USAF fighter pilot duo Music/DosGringos has been trying to revive the tradition of fighter pilot songs by writing new ones, and they've become fairly popular among the branches.
463
464Another tradition shared amongst the services is the [[MembershipToken Challenge Coin]], tracing back to an occasion in the UsefulNotes/FirstWorldWar where a downed American pilot was able to prove to friendly troops that he wasn't a spy only by presenting a bronze medallion with his squadron's insignia on it (his identification had been taken by German troops before he was able to escape after a brief capture). According to deprecated tradition, If challenged via a "Coin Check" (typically by someone pulling out their coin and slamming it down on the table or bar), anybody who does not have their coins has to buy everybody else a beer. If you pull a coin check and ''everybody'' has their coin, you owe THEM a beer. That said, no one actually does this anymore, and anyone who did would likely witness everyone in the vicinity laughing their asses off at them. Nowadays, they're little more than keepsakes and mementos.
465
466There are specific but very noteworthy pieces of culture within the services, too. For example, from 1989 to 2004, the F-14 Tomcat squadrons in the Navy Air Corps released an annual ''Fighter Fling'', a sort of yearbook turned into one long FanVid celebrating all the Tomcat squadrons by setting clips of them being badass or [[BunnyEarsLawyer Bunny-Eared]] to whatever music was popular at the time. Some of these videos show up on Website/YouTube occasionally, but as is the case with modern anime/movie/video game-based {{Fan Vid}}s, they are often taken down thanks to DMCA (due to the music—the visual elements are public domain from their creation as U.S. government works).
467
468InterserviceRivalry is another major aspect of American military culture--there are '''countless''' jokes putting one branch on a pedestal at the expense of another (or ''all'' of them). A number of the stereotypes people outside the military have of specific branches are also shared by other branches. For example, the Navy's air corps pilots refer to themselves as ''Aviators'', and look down their nose at the Air Force's mere ''pilots'' -- one claim being that USAF pilots lack the skill to land on a carrier. Meanwhile, the "dumb jarhead" stereotype that other branches have of the Marines probably originated from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII; the Marines were the only branch that would accept recruits who couldn't read or write. Given that the Marines are the smallest branch of service, however, and the one with the most colorful reputation, they've often been the only branch that routinely meets its recruiting goals, and has the luxury of being particularly selective in the era of the all-volunteer military.
469
470The Army traces its roots to the colonial militia. Solders are professional and dedicated to their job. Those who aren't get "UCMJ" (read: punishment). Like the Air Force, [[AffectionateNickname "Big Army"]] has FunWithAcronyms. It has is own slang and vocabulary. A character who was in the Army will say things like "Roger" or [[Film/ScentOfAWoman "Hooah!"]] The proper way to end a radio transmission for good is "out" not "over and out" (and ''never'' say [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedure_word#SAY_AGAIN repeat]]). Many a [[DrillSergeantNasty NCO]] will chew you out about that. As the younger sibling, the Air Force took many terms and ranks, but they have a more relaxed "Corporate" culture as opposed to the Army. The Army does make jokes about the "[[FanNickname Chair-force]]" and needing to use pictures and small words to talk to the "jarheads".
471
472As part of the Naval service and a sister branch of the Navy, Marines use naval terminology, even ashore (e.g.: "the head" (restroom), "port" (left side of something), "starboard" (right side), "the deck" (the floor), "hatches" (doors), "bulkheads" (walls), "aboard" (a base or other installation), "aye-aye" (in response to an order or command), "the fleet" (the Marine Corps' operating forces)). They probably use it even more rigorously than do sailors, which can be disconcerting and confusing to casual observers. Whether current or former, Marines take their job very, very seriously--not for nothing is the motto of the Marine Corps "''Semper Fidelis''," "Always Faithful" (spoken "Semper Fi", to rhyme with "temper pie"). Running afoul of the American military is bad no matter what, but if you run afoul of the Marines, then God help you. [[WarriorPoet Many are fond of]] Creator/RudyardKipling.
473
474The interservice rivalries have come a long way since the trouble times of World War Two, and these days they tend to melt away in real combat situations -- often turning into grudging or earnest respect. (Usually.) Opposition to interservice rivalry and a unified, joint chain of command has been written into US law since the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater%E2%80%93Nichols_Act 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act]], which was borne out of the egregiously avoidable losses and failures caused by interservice rivalry in the Vietnam war. Since then their military has pushed their personnel to emulate the (now-former) Soviet Army and Bundeswehr in "thinking purple" (as in, blend all the uniform colors together) and work together across service lines. Officers are expected to serve at least one joint tour to learn to work with other branches of service if they want to remain competitive for promotions.
475
476While the image of the "[[DumbMuscle dumb grunt]]" persists, the reality is that the US military has, in fact, valued education rather highly ever since World War Two. Many recruits sign up in part to get money to pay for higher education through the GI Bill, as well as receive practical training in specialized skills. And as one ascends the ranks, the level of formal education goes up -- many [=NCOs=] are college educated, all officers are -- the US only commissions college graduates, and graduate education is pretty much a requirement to make flag rank. (The Armed Forces conveniently run a number of graduate-level institutions, many of which are highly-respected in some field or other; for instance, the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks is well-known to be a good research center for security studies and international relations.) It should definitely be mentioned that the US military is one of the only employers in America, as well as being the largest and the only public employer, that can use frank intelligence and mental aptitude tests without fear of being sued for discrimination (the military is exempt from those provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act).
477
478!!Ranks in the US Armed Forces
479This topic is a mess, partially because the Navy and Coast Guard uses one set of ranks (the ones from ''Franchise/StarTrek'') and the Army, Air Force and USMC use another. Even better, both sets of ranks have "Captain" in them... but at different points on the ladder; a Navy Captain is an officer of some repute, but a Captain from another service is barely a third of the way up the climb to the top officer grade. Fictional examples of this sort of JurisdictionFriction include ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' and ''Videogame/WingCommander'', which we'll now use to explicate:
480* Does a [[SpaceMarine Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy]] outrank a Sergeant Major in the Marines? [[labelnote:Answer]]Kinda. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is the most senior enlisted man in the Navy, an E-9. The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps would be equivalent to John, but Johnson is simply a Sergeant Major; this is equivalent in paygrade (E-9), but not in authority or in actual salary (the senior enlisted advisor in each service gets a slightly higher salary than other E-9s). Of course, this raises all sorts of questions about why they'd give John a pay rate/rank that usually goes with an administrative job--not to mention why Johnson is able to act like MissionControl and give him orders. (John was promoted to MCPON 'posthumously', and Johnson had situational authority due to it being a Marine operation.)[[/labelnote]]
481* Does a Colonel from the Space Forces outrank a Naval Captain? [[labelnote:Answer]]No, but only because Captain Eisen is ''[[TheCaptain The]]'' [[TheCaptain Captain]] of TheBattlestar; under other circumstances, Blair's rank would equal his. Additionally, Blair is also [[Creator/MarkHamill Luke Skywalker]], which probably gives him seniority over some judge who [[Film/LiarLiar sentenced Jim Carrey]].[[/labelnote]]
482* Does a Master Chief outrank a Lieutenant? [[labelnote:Answer]]No, absolutely not. John-117 is holds the highest Enlisted rank it's possible to get; he's been fighting for longer than [[Literature/HaloFirstStrike Haverson]] has been alive; he's the PlayerCharacter, automatically making him a OneManArmy; and Haverson is a ''spy'', for God's sake, a member of the ArmchairMilitary. But Haverson is also a Lieutenant, and officers outrank enlisted, ''period''. Fortunately for everyone, Haverson is also a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and defers to John during ground ops, as most sensible [[EnsignNewbie junior officers]] would when dealing with a [[SergeantRock senior NCO]].[[/labelnote]]
483
484As you can see, it's an enormous tangle, with rank, service and experience all getting involved. Fortunately, there's the UsefulNotes/CommonRanks page on this wiki and a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._uniformed_services_pay_grades List of United States uniformed-services pay grades]] on Website/TheOtherWiki, which lists comparative ranks across many services, to help us keep things straightened out. The thing we're going to spend time on is the issue of "Generals" (Army, Marines and Air Force) and "Admirals" (Navy and Coast Guard). There are five ranks of General/Admiral, indicated by the number of stars on your uniform:
485
486* Brigadier General / Rear Admiral lower half (one star)
487* Major General / Rear Admiral upper half (two stars)[[labelnote:Aside]]A fact little known outside the military is that two-star ranks are the highest ''permanent'' ranks possible. All higher ranks are tied to specific positions whose holders are required to hold said rank. Current policy is that once a three- or four-star's term in his or her current position ends, and said officer is not placed in an equal or higher position, that officer is expected to retire. Virtually all flag-rank officers who retire after ending their term in a three- or four-star position will be approved to retire as such without reverting to their permanent two-star rank.[[/labelnote]]
488* Lieutenant General / Vice Admiral (three stars)
489* General / Admiral (four stars)
490* General of the Army (or Air Force) / Fleet Admiral (five stars)--wartime only, used basically to clarify org charts when fighting wars alongside allies that have Field Marshals. For further reference, the last person to hold this rank was Omar Bradley, who retired in 1953. The last Fleet Admiral was FADM Chester Nimitz, during World War II. Both got pieces of military tech named after them. The only General of the Air Force was Henry "Hap" Arnold, who received the rank {{ret|con}}roactively when the Army Air Forces became the US Air Force in 1947 (he retired from the USAAF as a General of the Army in 1946).
491** Uniquely in the armed forces, holders of five-star ranks technically remain on active duty for life, receiving full-time pay and benefits even after "retiring". UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower resigned his Army commission to become President; he was restored to five-star rank after his Presidency. George C. Marshall received a special waiver from Congress to allow him to serve as Secretary of Defense under Truman; he would have otherwise been barred from the position due to being technically on active duty.
492* General of the Armies / Admiral of the Navy (hypothetically six stars): While never formally defined as higher than a five star general rank, UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington was raised to that rank posthumously (in life his highest military rank was Lieutenant General, as the Army of the time didn't have enough men under arms to merit a full General in command) and John J. Pershing held this rank as well until his death in 1948. Whether Pershing actually ''outranked'' the five-star officers of World War II or merely had seniority over them (he was appointed to General of the Armies in 1919, while the rank of General of the Army didn't exist until 1944) was discussed at the time, but Congress was never interested enough to pass any law resolving the question. While hypothetically a six-star rank, the only insignia that ever existed was four-star: when the rank was created, Pershing was allowed to create his own insignia and chose a standard General's four stars, except in gold instead of the usual silver. Proposals were twice made (once when planning to invade Japan, prior to the atomic bombs making this redundant; once in the 1950s) to promote UsefulNotes/DouglasMacArthur to General of the Armies, both of which would've formalized it as a six-star rank, but neither of these went anywhere. No six-star insignia was ever officially designed, but the most common speculation is that it would've consisted of the same circle of five stars used for General of the Army with a sixth star in the middle of the circle. It is worth noting that, '''by law''', nobody in the US Armed Forces can outrank George Washington. '''''EVER.'''''
493** The equivalent naval rank of Admiral of the Navy was only granted once, to George Dewey in 1899.[[note]]Due to a typo in the original award, with [[UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley President McKinley]] appointing him to the nonexistent rank of "Admiral in the Navy", this was repeated in 1903 with the proper rank but retroactive to 1899.[[/note]] This was initially considered a four-star rank that was simply a fancier version of a regular Admiral, but just after Dewey's death in 1913 it was official elevated to five-star (expansion of the Navy meant more admirals and it was anticipated that the rank might be awarded again). When it was decided in 1944 that five-star admirals were needed, the name Fleet Admiral was instead used and this raised the prospect that Admiral of the Navy was a six-star rank. While this was considered quite irrelevant at the time (while General of the Army and General of the Armies existed simultaneously for four years, there had never been a Fleet Admiral and Admiral of the Navy at the same time), the prospect of General [=MacArthur=] being promoted to a six-star rank left the Navy feeling that they would need to promote one of their Fleet Admirals to a six-star Admiral of the Navy since [[InterserviceRivalry it would hardly do to have their highest-ranking officer outranked by an Armmy officer]], and they even drew up a proposed shoulder board insignia for the rank (consisting of a gold version of the Fleet Admiral's five stars superimposed on top of a very large single silver star, and instead of the single anchor of other admiral ranks there would be an eagle carrying a shield with two crossed anchors). No sleeve insignia was ever designed, though given the very simple nature of Navy sleeve insignia makes it quite easy to figure out that it would've been a single large gold stripe with five smaller stripes and a gold star above it.
494
495However, in the US, everyone with a star is called General or, in the Navy, Admiral.[[note]]Historically, some officers in the Navy with a star would be called "Commodore," but that rank was renamed Rear Admiral Lower Half in 1985.[[/note]] This is why Major General George Hammond from ''Series/StargateSG1'' and Rear Admiral A.J. Chegwidden from ''Series/{{JAG}}'' are just called General Hammond or Admiral Chegwidden.
496
497This also applies to some other ranks, thus (Lieutenant) Colonel John Sheppard in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' and (Lieutenant) Colonel Sarah Mackenzie in ''Series/{{JAG}}''. The emblem of full Colonels is an eagle, hence the "bird." A Lieutenant Colonel is a "half-bird," or "light" colonel.
498
499In the Navy and Coast Guard, a Captain is the equivalent of an Army/Air Force/Marine Corps Colonel. They're often referred to as a "full-bird Captain", as well, to distinguish them from Army/Marine/Air Force Captains. Navy Captains who visit Army or Air Force bases are used to being addressed as "Colonel", usually by very junior enlisted personnel who see the Eagle denoting their rank and simply don't have the experience to know the difference. This is also due to the fact that the commanding officer of a ship or installation is always addressed as "Captain," even if their ''actual'' rank is something else. (In the novel ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', a Mobile Infantry Captain is addressed by Naval personnel using the courtesy title of "Major" to avoid addressing him by "[[TheCaptain the title reserved for the one and only monarch]]." The [=MIs=] themselves regard this as somewhat silly, and only do it when they're "forward of [bulkhead] fifty" ... i.e. in the Navy part of the ship, as opposed to the aft section where the [=MIs=] are quartered.) Like in the Army, similar ranks tend to be conflated: USN/USCG Lieutenant Commanders and Commanders are both generally addressed as "Commander," and both Lieutenants junior grade and full-on Lieutenants are called "Lieutenant."
500
501And we pronounce Lieutenant ''without'' an "f" in the middle, [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents thank you very much]].
502
503Oh, and everything listed above? That was mostly just describing Commissioned Officer ranks. Each branch has an ''entirely'' different rank system for their enlisted troops, which only sometimes lines up in intuitive ways, with similar or identically named ranks being at different levels (for instance, an Army or Marine Staff Sergeant outranks an Air Force Staff Sergeant, being one paygrade higher. An Airman First Class and a Private First Class both outrank a Marine Private First Class, the latter being one paygrade lower than the other two. While an Army or Marine Corporal are both at the same paygrade as a Senior Airman or a Specialist Four in the Space Force, they both outrank the Senior Airman and [=Spc4=] because the Corporals are [=NCOs=] while the Senior Airman and [=Spc4=] are still considered junior-enlisted (unlike all other branches, the Air Force and Space Force do not have an NCO grade at the fourth-lowest level, although Senior Airmen and [=Spc4s=] often carry out similar supervisory duties as Corporals would).
504
505The US military shares one tradition with the UK military and many others descended from the British model that isn't much spoken of: it is the non-commissioned officers [[AlmightyJanitor who get everything done]]. The noncoms--sergeants and, in the Navy, petty officers--are better trained and more professional than many other nations' commissioned officers.
506
507Both Marine staff non-commissioned officers and Navy Chief Petty Officers are always referred to by their specific rank (e.g.: always "''Staff'' Sergeant," or "''Master''" Chief and ''never'' just "Sergeant" or "Chief"). In the Army, the proper address is "Sergeant" regardless of specific rank (except in certain training environments). In the Air Force and Space Force, either "Sergeant" or the specific rank is acceptable. No NCO is ''ever, EVER'' called [[BerserkButton "Sarge"]], though a Gunnery Sergeant, Master Sergeant or First Sergeant may respectively be "Gunny" or "Top" by their own ''if'' they permit that.
508
509Senior and experienced non-commissioned officers and master chief petty officers in all branches of the military may take a "First Sergeant" or "command master chief" professional track as they are promoted to certain grades or are placed in the appropriate billet. Such [=NCOs=] are act as "senior enlisted advisers" within units to act as a link between the commanding officer and the enlisted personnel. In the Army, E-8s and E-9s serving in such roles are respectively "First Sergeants" and "Command Sergeants Major". In the Air Force and Space Force, "First Sergeant" is not a rank, but instead a special duty that can be held by any NCO at Master Sergeant (E-7) level or above; most units in fact fill that position with an E-7, though larger units may have an E-8 or even E-9 as First Sergeant. Navy Master Chiefs become "Command Master Chiefs". The Marine Corps uses completely separate parallel tracks by which Gunnery Sergeants elect a choice on their regular fitness reports to be promoted either to First Sergeant, and thereafter Sergeant Major, or to Master Sergeant and then Master Gunnery Sergeant, and the Marines do not allow lateral move between these parallel ranks. Each branch of the service also has a specific billet and rank for the seniormost enlisted member of each service, known in military parlance as a "senior enlisted advisor" or SEA, who is meant to act as a representative for all enlisted members and as the senior enlisted adviser to the service's chief. These are respectively the Sergeant Major of the Army, the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. The Coast Guard, National Guard, and Space Force also have [=SEAs=], respectively the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, Senior Enlisted Advisor for the National Guard Bureau, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force. Finally, ''the'' highest-ranking enlisted member in the entire armed forces is the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC), who is appointed by and reports to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He[[note]](no woman has yet been appointed to this position)[[/note]] serves for a four-year term, meant to coincide with that of the Chairman. That said, the SEAC earns the same salary as all other [=SEAs=].
510
511The Navy, having its own set of ranks, often doesn't even use them when addressing each other, instead using titles referring to their jobs. The Communications Officer may be an {{Ensign|Newbie}}, but on a ship you call her Commo. Likewise, a Fire Control Technician who is a Petty Officer Third Class, for instance, would often be addressed as a Fire Control Technician Third Class, usually abbreviated as [=FC3=]. [[FridgeBrilliance This is probably because if something breaks on a ship at sea, you're more concerned with whether someone can fix it than with who they outrank.]]
512
513And as far as the whole "Captain" thing goes, ironically it's the ground rank that got there first. The first navies were more or less formed by the King snapping up whatever was floating in dock at the moment, and putting soldiers on them. Since a single ship supported around a company of men, and the commander of a company since time immemorial has been a "Captain", there we go. The original nautical rank in civilian shipping was "Master", which in the US Navy made its way down the ranks until being replaced around the time of the Civil War with "Lieutenant Junior Grade".
514
515Every branch of service except the Air Force (and, as of 2022, Space Force, since it was mainly staffed from the USAF) also has Warrant Officers, who are former highly-experienced senior enlisted personnel who are promoted to a grade of officers below commissioned officers but above enlisted personnel. Warrant officers are usually experts in particular technical or other specialized fields and the ranks exist so the military can hang on to their expertise and keep them in a particular billet while continuing to promote them. In the Navy and Marines, Warrant Officers are often referred to as [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "Gunners"]] (though, technically, in the Marines, this is only supposed to apply to Infantry Weapons Officers).
516
517Oh, and there's one instance where a soldier pretty much is always referred to by position instead of rank, except amongst themselves: a [[TheMedic combat medic]] is almost always referred to as "medic", "doc" or "corpsman", depending on the component he belongs to. This is both a sign of respect and a case of pragmatism: it's easier to yell "MEDIC!!" or "CORPSMAN!!" than "SERGEANT SO-AND-SO!!" [[TemptingFate And woe to you if you disrespect a medic]]: medics often joke that they have two ranks, the one on their uniform and the medical one, and that medical rank they can pull on EVERYBODY. '''EVERYBODY.''' When a casualty or medical situation is involved, a medic's orders will always take precedence. Even high-ranking officers will be told to step aside to let a medic do his job. The medical branches of the United States armed forces also see much heavier and intimate interaction between its non-coms and officers, so disrespecting a medic even of Private rank can win you an ass-chewing from a Major or Lieutenant Colonel.
518
519!! "War is the Continuation of Policy by Other Means"[[note]](Carl von Clausewitz, ''On War'')[[/note]]: The Chain of Command and the Military's Relationship to the Government
520
521The President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces under the Constitution, placing him at the top of the chain of command of all military forces in federal service [[note]]Note that if the President dies, is incapacitated, or is deemed unable to discharge the duties of office, then the Vice President would assume the all the duties of the President under the TwentyFifthAmendment[[/note]]. Under the Constitution, all commissioned officers in the United States military are officially appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and serve indefinitely at the pleasure of the President, though in practice, except at the seniormost levels or when politics are in play, the President, the civilian Secretaries and the Senate typically act to ratify the recommendations of military officers with regards to promotions and appointments of their juniors. The President holds the largest share of responsibility for and authority over military and foreign affairs, but by practical necessity dating back to the 19th century; only the really important issues involve the President in person, less important matters are decided by duly authorized inferiors. Others may be held back in order to create PlausibleDeniability. The President is directly assisted in the White House in military and foreign affairs issues by the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (aka the National Security Advisor), a very senior White House aide who runs the National Security staff (composed of a mix of Foreign Service, military, intelligence personnel and political appointees). The National Security Advisor is usually a highly influential person in terms of policy formulation, and follow-up of presidential policy. The National Security Council (acronym: NSC) is basically a cabinet council made up of the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence participating as statutory advisers and also attended by others invited by the President. (The National Security Advisor is a de facto standing participant, but the position is nowhere mentioned in the law that created the NSC.) Unlike the Secretary of Defense (see further below) the National Security Advisor is merely a presidential aide (not an "Officer of the United States" appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate) and cannot issue orders to the armed forces on his/her own. Some White House Chiefs of Staff (another senior presidential aide nowhere mentioned in law) take little interest in the national security arena focusing on solely the domestic agenda, while others does it differently, i.e. essentially taking part of everything the President does and acting as the ultimate gatekeeper to the Oval Office.
522
523The Secretary of Defense (acronym: [=SecDef=]: often called the "Defense Secretary", or simply "The Secretary" when it’s clear which secretary is meant) is the second most important official for the armed forces after the President. The Secretary of Defense is a member of the Cabinet and the National Security Council and is the head [[note]](as in CEO, not toilet)[[/note]] of the Department of Defense ([=DoD=], compromising all the branches except the Coast Guard) which is the largest agency in the federal government. The Secretary, who is usually a seasoned Washington insider, must by law be a civilian[[note]](at least seven years removed from service as a commissioned officer)[[/note]], and must also be confirmed by the Senate. Other than the President, he [[note]](no woman has yet been appointed)[[/note]] is the only civilian who has default legal authority to issue operational orders to the military. While the President as Commander in Chief typically decides on which conflicts to participate in and overall mission objectives, it’s up to the Secretary of Defense to decide on the actual implementation, such as which forces to put in, lines of authority, strategy, rules of engagement etc. The Secretary of Defense is easily one of the most difficult jobs in Washington and the incumbent must by necessity delegate much of his responsibilities other than core functions to subordinates[[note]], often other presidential appointees and civil servants in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)[[/note]]. There is a Deputy Secretary of Defense (acronym:[=DepSecDef=]), the second highest civilian banana in [=DoD=] who deals with the internal management (read: budget and other red tape) of the department and is usually less publicly visible than his boss.
524
525The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (acronym: CJCS) is the third most important official, and the officeholder is the highest ranked commissioned officer in the armed forces. While he [[note]](as with the Secretary of Defense, no woman has yet been appointed)[[/note]] doesn't have the vast legal powers like his immediate superior, the Secretary of Defense; the officeholder usually has lots on informal influence in military matters on the President, the Congress and the public. Some would say it's all because of the uniform. While the Chairman is forbidden by law from independently exercising command over the Armed Forces as a whole, he is allowed to assist the President and the Secretary of Defense in their command responsibilities. While the Chairman is technically appointed by the President, it's practically always the Secretary of Defense’s recommended choice who gets appointed (following Senate confirmation.) Since 1987, there is also a Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (acronym: VCJCS); and much like the Deputy Secretary of Defense he is usually less publicly visible than the immediate boss. For the Joint Chiefs of Staff itself see further below.
526
527The Department of Defense (Army, Navy, Marines & Air Force) has a "Unified Combat Command" structure by which the operational chain of command flows from the President as Commander in Chief, through the Secretary of Defense as second-in-command, directly to the Combatant Commanders, who are typically four-star generals or admirals with command over all military forces assigned to a particular geographical area, irrespective of branch of service (e.g.: United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), responsible for North America; or Central Command (USCENTCOM), responsible for the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia;) or for a special function (e.g.: Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), responsible for all special operations forces; or Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), responsible for America's nukes and space systems).
528
529Each individual service has its own civilian service secretary; the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy (responsible for both Navy & Marines), and the Secretary of the Air Force (also responsible for the Space Force); and the military service chief; the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The service secretaries are political appointments and they are subordinate to the Secretary of Defense. The service chiefs are typically the highest ranking officers in each of those branches of service, but who are ''not'' in direct command of operating forces while serving in those billets.[[note]]They used to be ''de jure'' until 1958, but they ''de facto'' kept control of the resources of their service until 1986, which made combatant commanders essentially paper tigers, unless they had friends in higher places. After the Iranian Hostage debacle Congress passed the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater–Nichols_Act Goldwater-Nichols Act]] removing the powers of the service chiefs to intimidate combatant commanders, among other things.[[/note]] Their job is to act as deputies to their service secretary in the administration and management of their organization.
530
531Collectively, the service chiefs, along with a Chairman and Vice Chairman (from any of the four DOD branches) and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau[[note]]from 2012[[/note]] make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who are senior military advisers.[[note]]However, only the Chairman is by law ''the senior military adviser''[[/note]] to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council[[note]]The National Security Council consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and others invited as decided by the incumbent President. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the only JCS member who participates in those meetings.[[/note]] While it's generally prudent for any President and Secretary of Defense to seriously take into consideration what the JCS recommends, they don't have to act on their advice at all, because it's ultimately the civilians who are in charge.
532
533What about Congress? Well what about 'em?
534
535Congress' role is in practice (but not in theory) largely limited to providing for funding for the military; which includes authorizations for forming specific units, establishing bases, creating specific officer billets, and approving particular weapon systems; and issuing formal declarations of war or authorizations for military force, though Congress also has the exclusive power to make rules and regulations governing the Armed Forces, such as the Uniform Code of Military Justice (the body of military criminal law), as well as the Senate's power to ratify (or to refuse to ratify) treaties and international agreements negotiated by the President. Congress has formally declared war only five times in history, the last time in 1942, but has authorized or funded numerous other military engagements. On at least 125 separate occasions, the President has ordered military action without approval from Congress. Following the withdrawal of US combat troops from Vietnam in 1973, Congress passed over a Presidential veto the War Powers Resolution, which requires the President to inform Congress within 48 hours of committing the military to armed conflict, and forbids the military from remaining in action for more than 90 days absent an authorization from Congress. Though generally adhered to, the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution has never been tested, and every President since its passage has maintained that the Resolution is an unconstitutional encroachment on the President's powers as Commander-in-Chief.[[note]]The Supreme Court of the United States has refused and continues to refuse in making a judgment on its constitutionality, calling it a "political question" and thus outside its remit.[[/note]]
536
537!!The Posse Comitatus and Insurrection Acts: The US Military at Home
538Unlike some other countries, the United States has implemented laws to prohibit the deployment of federal troops within the United States itself. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, implemented in the aftermath of the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, specifically prohibits local and state governments from using US Army and US Air Force personnel to enforce domestic laws, which is a duty reserved for civilian law enforcement agencies. The US Navy and Marine Corps, while not specifically mentioned in the Posse Comitatus Act, are also subject to the law due to a directive issued by the Secretary of Defense. The only branches of military exempt from this law are the National Guard and the Coast Guard. More on this later.
539
540In conjunction with the Posse Comitatus Act is the Insurrection Act of 1807, which gives the President the power to use state militias and the armed forces in order to put down insurrections and domestic violence. However, the President may only take action if the state's legislature or governor requests federal assistance, or if it is clear the state in question cannot uphold its own laws or the laws set forth in the Constitution. The Insurrection Act was intended as a check on the President's power to prevent him from being able to deploy military forces domestically at will.
541
542Contrary to popular belief, Posse Comitatus is ''not'' a blanket ban on domestic military deployment. By the wording of law, forces may be deployed domestically under the authority of the President or Congress. The Insurrection Act itself, being an "Act of Congress", is exempt from Posse Comitatus. However, this is a power rarely executed due to the negative political connotations. However, there are many other exceptions. For example, both the National Guard and Coast Guard are specifically exempt. The National Guard is under each individual governor's command, and therefore can be mobilized to counter domestic threats within their own state. The Coast Guard has always been considered a law enforcement agency, and retains its powers to enforce domestic laws in US waters.
543
544Also contrary to popular belief, the Posse Comitatus Act was never intended as a civil rights protection. Its origin was in fact quite the opposite; it was meant to put an end to the use of the US Army to protect the civil rights of freed slaves.
545
546However, this does not mean domestic deployment of federal troops is impossible. Under the Insurrection Act, troops may be deployed if the President declares martial law. In most cases, troops can be deployed domestically due to LoopholeAbuse. Posse Comitatus prohibits federal troops from ''enforcing'' the law, but there is nothing that prohibits them from supporting local law enforcement agencies. For example, US Navy ships are legally allowed to search, track, and stop ships they consider suspicious. However, only civilian law enforcement or Coast Guard personnel can actually board the ship, seize it, and arrest any criminals on board, which is why many Navy ships carry a small contingent of Coast Guard officers. Federal troops can also be attached to law enforcement units for training purposes, as long as they are not directly involved law enforcement activities. For example, US Marines were allowed to man sobriety checkpoints alongside deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department to observe sobriety enforcement tactics and techniques for use on Marine bases.
547
548In terms of fiction, while many writers are aware that the military (other than non-federalized National Guard units or the Coast Guard) should only be deployed to respond to only the most extreme emergencies within the Continental United States; the biggest mistake shown in this regard is military forces intervening on their own initiative to a domestic emergency outside of a military facility. Unless there are approved procedures in place for the situation at hand, it would take a decision made by either the President or the Secretary of Defense to send in federal troops, and only under strict conditions limited by federal law. In many works of fiction where an individual military officer acts upon his own initiative, he realistically would be arrested and punished for violating the Posse Comitatus Act afterwards instead of getting a medal. Special forces soldiers acting domestically can be justified as being on a top secret mission.[[note]]In which case, the 19th or 20th Special Forces Groups would most likely be used as they are part of the National Guard.[[/note]]
549
550!!Oversexed, Overfed, Overpaid and Over Here: The US Military Abroad
551The US armed forces have bases in quite a few foreign countries and have turned up in many others. This allows them to be used as plot devices in foreign CrimeAndPunishmentSeries.
552
553The most notable case was UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Compared to the situation in other countries, there wasn't a tremendous amount of rationing in the US during the war, meaning that your average GI would have access to stuff like tobacco, chocolate and nylon stockings, and was (despite perennial complaints about the food) far better fed than his starving Chinese, Japanese, and German counterparts. The women of Britain and liberated Europe were rather grateful for this (mostly having only seen Americans on the silver screen), so some gave them what they had to offer. As a result, quite a few US soldiers stayed in Europe permanently (and even more European women came to America as war brides). That the Cold War was going on didn't hurt, as a US military presence in Europe continued for a long time after the end of the war (and still goes on today).
554
555Having bases around the world also helps the US strengthen one of its key advantages, unmatched deployability. This means that the United States has numerous staging points to mass their forces, resupply, defend allies, provide humanitarian aid, and provide deterrent. For example, Marine bases established in Japan at the end of World War II were key to supporting the UN forces in the Korean War, while US bases in Turkey and other Middle Eastern allies were key in winning both Iraq wars. The bases also have their own set of problems associated with them. Okinawa island to the south of Japan is a case in point. The deterrent factor has faded with the end of the Cold War -- "they can't attack you without hitting us too, and they don't dare attack us" loses a certain essential something when there is no longer a Them to worry about. Seoul is an exception; its primary purpose is to assure the North Koreans that an attack on the South would necessarily kill American soldiers, and the American military will not let that sort of thing slide.
556
557Also, note African American servicemen went to Europe in both World Wars. Many of them found European cultures less racist--or at least less ''institutionally'' racist--than the US, and contrived to miss the boat home.[[note]] Other than institutionally, Europeans could be worse than the most backwards American hillbillies--a fact that would come to bite later dark-skinned immigrants in the ass once America made a concerned effort to clean up its act, but Europe--not thinking of itself as racist--did not.[[/note]] The rise of the Paris jazz scene between the wars is just one of the results.
558
559!!What has the American military ever done for us?
560Back when the world was far less economically developed and devastated by war, by some measures the US actually accounted for as much as a ''third'' of world GDP in 1945. The sheer size of their economy and higher-than-average investment in military spending means they've continually out-researched everyone with regards to everything even vaguely military-ish for the better part of seven decades now. Their spending habits are reflected in all the wacky and experimental things which might not otherwise have been mass-produced for many years -- if not decades! -- if it weren't for them and The Soviets, who mostly gave them a nice continual incentive to spend just that bit more (i.e. twice as much) than they might have otherwise.
561
562* The very existence of this Wiki was made possible via their Department of Defense wanting linking up their gigantic research computers to each other through some sort of 'data network' -- so they would mean they wouldn't have to keep lugging around (gigantic!) physical memory devices all the time whenever they wanted to swap data. Incidentally, it also protected the flow of information between military installations from attacks (up to and including nuclear weapons that didn't physically destroy them). This is what became the Internet. (The World Wide Web and the hypertext system, while still vital, was a civilian thing)
563* Your sat-nav, whether it's a standalone unit or incorporated into a smartphone. NAVSTAR GPS, developed for the US military and made available for public use after the KAL 007 shoot-down.
564* Supersonic flight--first verifiably done by [[DangerDeadpan the US Air Force]][[note]]anecdotal accounts of breaking the sound barrier by pilots of some of the more high-performance fighters in [=WW2=] do exist[[/note]], if only so the Red Air Force didn't do it first. Admittedly this one has no direct practical civilian applications since the shut-down of Concorde (obviously many military planes around the world are still supersonic, and the indirect effects of the Air Force research helped with both space research--for which see below--and with designs for modern "transonic"[[note]]"Transonic" means traveling within the range of Mach 0.8 and 1.2; modern airliners are often in the bottom end of that range, flying between Mach 0.80 and 0.85. This range of speeds is important because it means that although the plane itself isn't flying at supersonic speed, some of the air traveling around the plane is, which has some weird aerodynamic effects.[[/note]] jet airliners), [[RuleOfCool but it's still pretty cool]].
565** The Bell XS-1 (redesignated X-1 in December 1946, becoming the first of fifty-six experimental aircraft and spacecraft designs in the X series to date) was the first aircraft able to fly ''faster than sound, in level flight.'' Though previous aircraft (most notably the North American F-86 Sabre) were ''capable'' of flying faster than sound, they could only do so in a dive. The X-1 demonstrated the necessary characteristics for a powered aircraft to fly faster than sound (streamlining, powerful engines, shorter wings than the shape of the supersonic shock cone) and set the stage for decades of aircraft design.
566* NATO/US Space Exploration in general, and the Moon Landings in particular. [[UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower The rockets built to carry high-yield strategic nuclear munitions to Soviet cities]], once it became clear that the Soviets would be able to shoot down the US's nuclear-bomber airfleet fairly easily. Guidance systems were bulky and primitive and could only guide a missile to within a few miles of a target, so they would mount ''very'' high-yield nuclear warheads onto some ''rather'' large inter-continental ballistic missiles ([=ICBMs=]) just so they could be sure of annihilating their target-cities -- or at least coating them with fallout. The rockets were already designed to exit the earth's atmosphere, and it transpired that The Moon was a far easier target than Sevastopol. Replacing the gigantic nuclear weapon with a space-capsule was almost laughably easy.
567** Also, military-trained pilots. Of the 12 men to walk on the Moon, only one (Harrison Schmitt[[note]]who was too busy earning a [=PhD=] in Geology from Harvard[[/note]]) had never been a member of the US Armed Forces. Of the remaining 11, only the first (UsefulNotes/NeilArmstrong) was directly employed by NASA: Armstrong was a former Navy fighter pilot, while the remaining 10 were still active-duty Air Force and Navy pilots (4 Air Force, 6 Navy).
568* Antibiotics. In order to reduce deaths from wounds and illness, the US Military developed a mould-based antibiotic to supplement their supply of sulfa (chemical-based) antibiotics. These were so effective they phased out the use of medical maggots[[note]] used because they only eat rotting flesh and keep wounds miraculously clean and infection-free, but they are more finicky to care for (e.g. can't handle extremes of temperature) and have a shorter shelf life than penicillin pills [[/note]] entirely in the latter half of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII[[note]]Interesting aside: The penicillin was based on a sample from a moldy cantaloupe found in Peoria, discovered after a months-long nationwide search. That's right: to save thousands of soldiers and millions of others, the US Armed Forces dispatched people across the country to stick their noses in moldy fruit. Also, until then, it was accepted practice in the military for soldiers being treated with penicillin to collect their pee so the penicillin could be purified out of it--most of a dose of penicillin doesn't actually do anything, but rather gets expelled through the urinary system. When penicillin is cheap this isn't a problem, but when it's expensive...[[/note]]
569* Nylon--originally created for parachutes. Or rather, originally created for women's stockings, which used the silk needed for parachutes at the beginning of World War II; old stockings were turned into parachutes. And then they ran out of old silk stockings and started making the parachutes out of old nylon stockings and whatever other nylon they could get their hands on. Women held stocking drives to support the war effort.
570* Duct tape--originally created as a waterproof packing tape for supply crates being carried ashore in amphibious landings. In the military duct tape is colored olive drab instead of silver, and nicknamed "mile a minute tape" or "ninety mile an hour tape".
571* Military forces are usually among the first (and best-organised) forces to aid the starving and dispossessed in the aftermath of natural disasters. As the world's best-funded and most (logistically) capable military, the US is often startlingly quick to turn up on the scene -- not least because of their huge air fleet and the sheer number of bases they have all over the world, which allows them to access even the most inhospitable territory. They also have a massive navy and, again, basing rights all over the place -- so that enables them to bring aid in great bulk. They've even been known to divert their ''battle fleets'' to these ends, when they're not doing anything more important.
572** On the internet an anecdote exists of a supposed conference listing some of the capabilities of aircraft carriers in disaster situations, including on-board hospitals, cafeterias designed to feed thousands, the ability to provide electricity to shore-based facilities, a landing point for rescue aircraft, and cargo space for thousands of tons of relief supplies and, to a lesser degree, the land and air vehicles to transport such. A side effect for nuclear-powered carriers [[labelnote:note]]The last conventionally fueled carrier, the ''Kitty Hawk'', was decommissioned in 2017. The main reason it lasted so long was because it had spent most of its time since the turn of the millennium as the flagship in the U.S. Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, and the Japanese had objections to basing any nuclear vessel in its waters. It was only after these objections were addressed that ''Kitty Hawk'', which for the preceding decade or more had spent more time in the shipyards than it had underway due to age and mileage, was recalled to the U.S. to be replaced by a newer generation carrier and was decommissioned soon after.[[/labelnote]] is that their nuclear plants' cooling systems have the side effect of being the world's largest portable desalination plants[[labelnote:*]]Nearly 400,000 gallons (or 1,500 cubic meters) per day—more than a typical suburban American family will use in ''a year''. A generous high end estimate of around 150-200k of that is used daily for average shipboard use for a full crew complement, though with some restrictions, they can make do on under 100k without much trouble. At sea, any excess is normally discharged, but easy pumping for disaster relief and emergency storage is built into the design for just such an occasion.[[/labelnote]] capable of supplying fresh water indefinitely, just as fast as containers can be set up to receive and distribute it.
573* When military historians or [[HollywoodHistory amateur military buffs]] play the "who was the best military in history" game, it's pretty much a consensus that the one area the US military has been better at than any armed force in history is [[BoringButPractical logistics]]. No military is as capable of shipping troops and materiel from point A to point B, and this was a large (and frequently unheralded) contributing factor to the Allied victory in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Sadly, this strength may have degraded in recent years as responsibility for logistical operations are outsourced more and more to unscrupulous civilian contractors and in some cases, to other countries.
574** Their ''absolute'' logistics capability has never been greater, but their unnatural edge over the rest of the world (c.5% of world population, c.30% of world GDP in 1945) has faded over the years. During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, more than 90% of the Wehrmacht's transport pool was comprised of horse-drawn buggies and carts; if they could not hitch a ride or take a train, regular infantry had to march to the front lines. By contrast, the United States Army was ''entirely motorized'', and practically every man who was within friendly territory could count on not having to walk over 50 miles to get where they needed to be. That being said, the ability to transport millions of tonnage across three thousand miles of ocean is no mean feat, even today.
575* One of the benefits of joining the US military since WWII is having your college paid for by the Montgomery GI bill. One can also get a scholarship by joining the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps, essentially a college level cadet program that leads into a military career as an officer). In addition, each service offers the ability to gain college credit, and in some cases having a degree is a requirement for promotion even for the enlisted. In America joining the military to get an education is a fairly common motivation, helping to make the military an institution of society in many parts of the US.
576* Ballistic missile defenses. The lion's share of BMD technology is American in origin. The Navy's Standard Missile 3, on top of defending USN and Japanese cruisers and destroyers, is also based on land throughout Europe. The Army's THAAD system also protects American bases the world over. One of the only other significant BMD systems, that of Israel, is also heavily supported by the USA, monetarily and technologically. Suffice to say that US weaponry is the chief protection against the unlikely event of any sort of ballistic missile attack, regardless of source, for much of the globe.
577
578!!US Nuclear Weapons
579The United States was first to develop the atomic bomb, as well as the first and only nation to actually use the atomic bomb offensively. To date, no one has used the atomic bomb ''defensively'' either, so except for setting them off to see if they will in fact explode at all, the US is simply "the only nation to use the atomic bomb." The US is now the biggest holder of nuclear weapons. See UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower, since they turn up a bit in fiction.
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