United States Armed Forces

“ Policy. All Americans who are qualified to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States (“Armed Forces”) should be able to serve. The All-Volunteer Force thrives when it is composed of diverse Americans who can meet the rigorous standards for military service, and an inclusive military strengthens our national security. ”

“ We are building our own Army, Navy, and Air Force to an active strength of nearly 3 1/2 million men and women. We are stepping up the training of the reserve forces, and establishing more training facilities, so that we can rapidly increase our active forces far more on short notice.
We are going to produce all the weapons and equipment that such an armed force will need. Furthermore, we will make weapons for our allies, and weapons for our own reserve supplies. ”

“ These new relationships permit economies in the use of men as we build forces suited to our situation in the world today. As will be seen from the Budget Message on January 21, the airpower of our Navy and Air Force is receiving heavy emphasis.
Third, our armed forces must regain maximum mobility of action. Our strategic reserves must be centrally placed and readily deployable to meet sudden aggression against ourselves and our allies.
Fourth, our defense must rest on trained manpower and its most economical and mobile use. A professional corps is the heart of any security organization. ”

“ As we begin our third year, we have put in place a defense program that redeems the neglect of the past decade. We have developed a realistic military strategy to deter threats to peace and to protect freedom if deterrence fails. Our Armed Forces are finally properly paid; after years of neglect are well trained and becoming better equipped and supplied. And the American uniform is once again worn with pride. ”

“ It is our constant endeavor to keep our National Defense organization abreast with the latest advances. Under the Mutual Defense Pat with the United States we are modernizing our armed forces particularlt in relation to the new weapons and methods of warfare. ”

“ The Congress has made it possible to offer valuable inducements to those who are eligible for enlistment. Every effort will be made to enlist the required number of young men.
The War and Navy Departments now estimate that by a year from now we still will need a strength of about 2 million including officers, for the armed forces--Army, Navy, and Air. I have reviewed their estimates and believe that the safety of the Nation will require the maintenance of an armed strength of this size for the calendar year that is before us. ”

“ Any future war will see joint operations on a scale never before achieved, and its success will be dependent in large part upon the cooperation of all ranks in all services. Likewise, in combined operations, the alert officer will take it upon himself to learn and respect the insignia, relative ranks, and customs of his Allies. By exerting himself in the recognition of other ranks, by exacting adherence to the official tables of precedence, he contributes not only to his own stature as a professional soldier, sailor, marine or airman, but adds to the reputation of his service. ”

“ The State forces thus authorized will be, during such time as they shall be actually engaged as an embodied military force in active service, armed, equipped, clothed, subsisted, transported, and paid by the United States in accordance with the Regulations of the United States Army and such orders as may from time to time be issued from the War Department, and in no other manner ”

“ They are protecting our Nation, advancing the blessings of freedom, and laying the foundation for a more peaceful tomorrow through service that exemplifies the good and decent character of our Nation. America is grateful to all those who have worn the uniform of the Armed Forces of the United States, and we will never forget their sacrifices for our liberty. ”

“ No matter how capable or advanced our weapons systems, our military security depends on the abilities, the training and the dedication of the people who serve in our armed forces. I am determined to recruit and to retain under any foreseeable circumstances an ample level of such skilled and experienced military personnel. This Administration has supported for FY 1981 the largest peacetime increase ever in military pay and allowances. ”

“ The army as an aid to the civil power. The Use of Armed Forces in Time of Peace.—In time of peace the regular army and the national guard may be used under certain conditions to put down riot or disorder. The President has the right to use United States troops within the limits of any state in order to enforce the national laws, to facilitate the carrying of the mails, or to maintain any other function of the national government. ”

“ The first of these jobs is to move ahead full steam on the defense program.
Our objective is to have a well-equipped active defense force large enough--in concert with the forces of our allies--to deter aggression and to inflict punishing losses on the enemy immediately if we should be attacked. This active force must be backed by adequate reserves, and by the plants and tools to turn out the tremendous quantities of new weapons that would be needed if war came. ”

“ The Armed Forces and the unified commands have achieved a remarkable degree of integration in organization and operations and remain the best-trained, best-equipped, and best-prepared fighting force in the world. ”

“ We rely on our Armed Forces because this is still a dangerous world. We're proud of them because they are the best in the world. And we remember today what makes them the best, not just the quality of our weapons but the quality of our people in uniform. ”

“ To meet situations of less than general nuclear war, we continue to maintain our carrier forces, our many service units abroad, our always ready Army strategic forces and Marine Corps divisions, and the civilian components. ”

“ At a minimum, inspected units and organizations shall include those required in the Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan and those assigned in the Forces For Unified Commands document or have the potential to support, by deployment or otherwise, a directed Operation Plan, Concept Plan, contingency operation, homeland security operation, or Defense Support of Civil Authorities requirements for naval offensive or defensive mine warfare. ”

“ We will share ideas for how to position America to meet every challenge that confronts us. We'll show our enemies abroad that we are united in the goal of victory.
And one of the first steps we can take together is to add to the ranks of our military so that the American Armed Forces are ready for all the challenges ahead. (Applause.) Tonight I ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in the next five years. ”

“ War efforts are directed first of all toward helping sustain the internal security forces consisting of a regular army of about 150,000 men, and mobile civil guard of some 45,000 and local defense units which are being formed to give protection against subversion on the village level.... ”

“ Time and again, America has called on her men and women in uniform to protect our national security, to advance our national interests, and to preserve our rights and freedoms. And time and again, our Armed Forces have responded by overcoming daunting challenges to achieve hard-fought victories. ”

“ From my first months in office, I can assure you that America has the strongest, best trained, and most faithful Armed Forces in the world, men and women so worthy of the great responsibilities borne by them in our Nation. ”

“ The views entertained by the Executive on this point are contained in a communication of the Secretary of State dated the 7th of October last, which was forwarded for publication to California and New Mexico, a copy of which is herewith transmitted. The small military force of the Regular Army which was serving within the limits of the acquired territories at the close of the war was retained in them, and additional forces have been ordered there for the protection of the inhabitants and to preserve and secure the rights and interests of the United States. ”

“ The valuable services constantly rendered by the Army and its inestimable importance as the nucleus around which the volunteer forces of the nation can promptly gather in the hour of danger, sufficiently attest the wisdom of maintaining a military peace establishment; but the theory of our system and the wise practice under it require that any proposed augmentation in time of peace be only commensurate with our extended limits and frontier relations. ”

“ So often, our Armed Forces and the Department of Defense staff are how the rest of the world encounters America. And you all know as well as anyone that our country is safer and stronger when we lead not just with the example of our power, but with the power of our example. ”

“ However, it must be remembered that the War Department undertook and accomplished a herculean task, and it could not be expected, starting with a regular force of less than 30,000 men, that an army of a quarter of a million could be built up out of volunteers who had to be collected, trained, clothed, equipped, and provisioned, and a war waged and won on two sides of the globe, in a little over three months, without much suffering and many mistakes. ”

“ The rapid deployment forces we are assembling will be extraordinarily flexible: They could range in size from a few ships or air squadrons to formations as large as 100,000 men, together with their support. Our forces will be prepared for rapid deployment to any region of strategic significance. ”

“ The general plan for an army of the United States at peace should be that of a skeleton organization with an excess of trained officers and thus capable of rapid enlargement by enlistments, to be supplemented in emergency by the national militia and a volunteer force. ”

“ The men and women of America's Armed Forces selflessly serve to protect our Nation, and they are among our greatest heroes. From the trenches of World War I to the beaches of Normandy, from Korea to Vietnam, from Afghanistan to Iraq, many courageous members of our military have given their lives so that Americans could live in freedom and security. ”

“ The United States Army, consisting of the Regular Army, National Guard, and Reserve Corps, with the addition of volunteers and the draftees of the National Army, underwent a transformation from a frontier constabulary and coastal defense force to a modern land warfare force. ”

“ Never before in time of peace has our country maintained so large and effective a military force. as it now has. The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, National Guard, and Organized Reserves represent a strength of about 558,400 men. These forces are well trained, well equipped, and high in morale. ”

“ In times of peace the Army consists of the regular army, but in case of an invasion or threatened invasion of the territory of the United States or of rebellion or threatened war against the constituted government of the nation, this force may be augmented by calling the organized militia into service and further augmented if necessary by the employment of volunteers or drafted men, with the authorization of the Congress. ”

“ From the day I took the oath of office, I pledged that our Nation would maintain the best equipped, best trained, and best prepared military on Earth. We have, and they are. They have managed the dramatic downsizing of our forces after the cold war with remarkable skill and spirit. ”

“ I wish to draw your attention to the need for maintaining at least the nucleus of the Armed Forces whose primary mission should be the training of our manpower potential not only to defend our territory but also to meet such minimum defense requirements as a consequence of commitments with our friends and allies. ”

“ In accordance with section 1264 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018 (Public Law 115-91) , as amended, 50 U.S.C. 1549 (a) , I am transmitting the annual report on the legal and policy frameworks guiding the United States’ use of military force and related national security operations. ”

“ The power and diversity of the Armed Forces, active Guard and Reserve, the resolve of our fellow citizens, the flexibility in our command to navigate international waters that remain troubled are all essential to our security. ”

“ They are the heart of our Armed Forces which sustain our freedom and way of life. The duties they perform in accomplishing their mission are a necessary and permanent part of this country's defense mechanism. Upon their shoulders lies the defense of our Nation. ”

“ The primary purpose of the Armed Forces is to defend our national security and prepare for combat should the need arise. (D) One of the most critical elements in defending the Nation and preparing for combat is training in conditions that simulate the preparation, logistics, and leadership required for defense and combat. ”

“ He will have the authority to train the national units assigned to his command and to organize them into an effective integrated defense force. He will be supported by an international staff drawn from the nations contributing to the force. ”

“ As your Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to use force to defend the vital interests of the American people and our allies around the world when necessary. The central, indispensable mission of the Department of Defense is to deter aggression from our enemies and, if required, to fight and win wars to keep America safe. ”

“ Confident in their strength, and relying on their ability to adjust international differences, the United States have habitually maintained, by voluntary enlistment for short terms, a standing army and a fleet which, in proportion to the population, are insignificant. ”