US Military Agencies

Conscription

Personnel End Strength

Military Occupational Specialties

Military Corruption

Civil-Military Relations

The USA hasfour military services, the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force. It also hassix armed forces, those five, plus the Coast Guard.

In addition, the USA haseight uniformed services, all of the above, plus the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), part of the Department of Health, whose broad mission is to safeguard national health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps (NOAA), overseen by the Commerce Department and charged with protecting the environment and climate. Officers of both corps are commissioned, which means that just like their military counterparts, they cannot resign until they have finished their terms of service. They also wear uniforms but don’t carry weapons, that is, unless the president chooses to militarize them, as President Harry Truman did during World War II and the Korean Conflict, caring for the wounded, conducting land surveys, even forecasting weather for military operations.