What You Need to Know About...
...The United States Army
(Note: This is NOT an official United States Government website)
1. General
2. People
3. Gear
4. Tactics and Strategy
9. Books
10. Useful Links
News
General William Westmoreland passed away on July 18th, 2005. Best known as the commanding general of American forces in Vietnam. He was 91 years old.
General
1.01 How old is the U.S. Army?
The Army was formed on June 14th, 1775.
1.1 What does "G.I." mean?
It means "Government Issue" and it has a lot of uses depending upon the context. If you refer to somebody as a "G.I." it means they're a member of the armed forces; usually Army. If you refer to something being G.I. (ex: "Three pairs of G.I. green socks") that means it is official, government issue, equipment.
It can also be used as a verb meaning to get things in order. ex: "I want you guys to G.I. the barracks." which means to clean and make inspection ready.
1.5 What can you tell me about saluting?
A salute is a gesture, and in this context we mean a hand gesture, generally given by a subordinate to a superior upon first encountering that superior. In the United States military the salute is generally given by standing at attention, feet together, standing straight, shoulders back, and raising the right hand, fingers and thumb straight and together, so that the tip of the index finger touches the bill of the hat (if wearing one) or the temple just above the right eye. The upper arm should extend out to the side, parallel to the ground.
Different branches have different rules about saluting and the circumstances of the encounter must also be taken into consideration. The salute is almost always initiated by the subordinate; the rare exception includes when that subordinate is a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. While the superior is not technically required to salute the Congressional Medal of Honor winner it is customary that they do.
1.5.1 Does the Army have any special customs regarding salutes?
Yes. If you're operating in a combat zone or area where snipers are suspected then saluting is forbidden as it can tip off the sniper to a potentially valuable target (the officer being saluted). Also you never salute with a noticeable object in your right hand or mouth; and you don't have to salute if you are driving or riding (or if the officer is) in a privately owned vehicle.
1.99 What if I want to join the Army?
Start here: http://www.goarmy.com/ or visit your local Army Recruitment office.
People
2.01 What are the enlisted ranks?
E1 - Private
E2 - Private E-2
E3 - Private First Class (PFC)
E4 - Corporal/Specialist (SPC)
E5 - Sergeant
E6 - Staff Sergeant
E7 - Sergeant First Class
E8 - Master Sergeant/First Sergeant
E9 - Sergeant Major
2.02 What are the officer ranks?
O1 - Second Lieutenant
O2 - First Lieutenant
O3 - Captain
O4 - Major
O5 - Lieutenant Colonel
O6 - Colonel
O7 - Brigadier General
O8 - Major General
O9 - Lieutenant General
O10 - General
General of the Army (doesn't have an "O" designation; is only used in wartime)
2.1 Eight People You Should Know
2.1.1 George Washington
Commanding general of the Continental Army he led the revolution against England that led to the independence of the United States. Subsequently became the first President of the United States.
2.1.2 General Ulysses S. Grant
2.1.3 General John J. Pershing
2.1.4 General George S. Patton
One of the most famous and fiery American generals of all time. Patton served as an aide to General John Pershing and later founded the first American tank school and trained the first 500 tankers in the American army. Experienced his greatest success and acclaim during WWII when he led his armored divisions in many successful engagements against the Germans. General Patton died December12th, 1945 of injuries suffered in a car accident and is buried in Luxembourg.
2.1.5 Audie Murphy
2.1.5 General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe he oversaw the D-Day invasion of Normandy during WWII. Later became President of the United States.
2.1.6 General Douglas MacArthur
Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in the Pacific theater during World War II. He signed the peace treaty on the decks of the USS Missouri on behalf of the allied military forces. For the half dozen years after the end of WWII MacArthur was effectively the President of Japan, overseeing the occupational government tasked with the rebuilding of the nation.
2.1.7 General Norman Schwarzkopf
Gear
3.1 What is the Bradley Fighting Vehicle?
The M2/M3 Bradley is an armored, tracked, vehicle with a primary mission of transporting troops in a secure, all-terrain, vehicle and supporting them in combat. You can think of it as something of a light tank, although that is not really it's official designation.
The M2 is the transport variant and it can carry up to 6 fully equipped troops, in addition to its 3-man crew. The M3 is more for scouting and reconnaissance and it carries 2 scouts in addition to the 3-man crew.
The Bradley is capable of just shy of 40mph on the roads and all of them are amphibious.
Here's are a couple of good sites about the Bradley:
3.2 What is a "Carbine?"
A Carbine is a weapon that is somewhat between a rifle and a pistol; frequently based upon the longer and heavier rifle. It may fire the same rounds that the rifle does and have many common parts. Its lightweight and shorter length make them easier to handle in close quarters, however they also tend to have less muzzle velocity and a shorter effective range.Tactics and Strategy
4.01 What is the difference between "Tactics" and "Strategy"?
Speaking a bit generally strategy is what you want to do (in the grand scheme) and tactics are how you do it. Attacking on the enemy's left flank and seizing a city that is key to their supply lines is strategy.
Having a tank advance to the corner and lay down suppressing fire while two squads of troops run across the street and take up advantageous positions behind a rock wall is tactics.
4.1 What is "Indirect Fire"
Indirect fire is, obviously enough, fire that is indirect. If you take a rifle and shoot something that is direct fire. You aim at it, your bullet travels in a straight line and hits the target (hopefully), directly. Indirect fire is mortars and artillery. The projectile is fired up into the air at a particular trajectory calculated to bring that projectile down, somewhere downrange, onto the target you want to hit.