Army of the United States
The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army, the others being the Regular Army, Army Reserve and the National Guard.[1] The Army of the United States, abbreviated as the "AUS", serves as the conscription-draft force which may be raised when the United States enters into a major national emergency or armed conflict. This in contrast to the Regular Army and reserve-guard components which are volunteer forces. The Army of the United States has been inactive since the suspension of the draft in 1973 and the U.S. armed forces became an all-volunteer armed force.[2]
The term "Army of the United States" or "Armies of the United States" is also the legal name of the land forces of the United States, as prescribed by the United States Constitution[3][4]. In this concept, the term "Army of the United States" has been in use since at least 1841, as in the title: General Regulations for the Army of the United States. This usage is separate from the legal service component of the Army of the United States (AUS) which, in that context, was used as a draft force in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.[5]
History[edit]
World War II[edit]
The "Army of the United States" (AUS) was activated in February 1941[6] in response to the increasing likelihood of the United States entering World War II. The Army of the United States saw a major expansion following the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It was legally considered the successor to the National Army, which had been founded to fight in World War I and was disbanded in 1920.[clarification needed][citation needed]
Personnel voluntarily enlisting into the United States Army prior to spring 1940 could choose to enlist into the Regular Army, which required a service obligation of one or three years, with additional periods of three years at the discretion of the soldier. After 14 May 1940, all voluntary enlistees in the United States Army during a time of national emergency or war were classified as Army of the United States personnel. The wartime enlisted force of the Army of the United States also had a portion of Regular Army career soldiers, but unlike their officer counterparts, they did not hold any separate AUS rank and were considered as Regular Army only. On 13 December 1941, personnel inducted into the armed forces of the United States under the terms of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 were also legally considered personnel of the Army of the United States.
The first commissioned officers of the Army of the United States were appointed from the Regular Army. The standard practice that these officers held a "permanent rank" within the Regular Army as well as a higher "temporary rank" while serving in the Army of the United States. A typical situation might be a colonel in the AUS holding the permanent rank of captain in the Regular Army. Another term for the AUS was "Theater Rank", held by officers deployed to the European Theater or serving in the Pacific.[citation needed]
Promotions within the Army of the United States were sometimes very rapid, and some officers were promoted as many as four to five times in the space of just three to four years. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as General of the Army, rose from a colonel to five-star general in three years. However, rank in the AUS could be revoked just as easily, with senior commanders who were relieved reverting to their permanent Regular Army rank. This was known as "loss of theater rank", with some instances of generals returning to the United States in disgrace or at least under a cloud, as only colonels or majors.[7]
In 1946, with postwar demobilization, the Army of the United States was suspended, along with the draft. Officers from that point reverted to Regular Army rank and all enlisted personnel either were discharged from the AUS or reenlisted in the Regular Army. The Army of the United States was reinstated during the Korean War, but it was mainly confined to the enlisted forces. Most commissioned officers in the Korean War held Regular Army rank only.[citation needed]
Korean War[edit]
On its reinstatement for the Korean War[clarification needed], the Army of the United States consisted of conscripts in the Regular Army, with the National Guard and Army of the United States existing simultaneously in the same theater. The system of Service Numbers was as follows:[citation needed]
- ER: Enlisted Reserve
- OR: Officer Reserve
- NG: National Guard
- RA: Regular Army
- US: Army of the United States
For the Korean War, the Army of the United States changed its abbreviation to "US", replacing the older "AUS".[citation needed]
Vietnam and beyond[edit]
The last use of the Army of the United States was during the Vietnam War. It was disbanded in 1974, one year after US forces withdrew from the Republic of Vietnam.[citation needed]
The Army Reserve (USAR) and Army National Guard (ARNG) remained separate components during the modern era of conscription, and their members continued to use their unique identifiers, except in those cases in which officers were appointed or commissioned into a higher grade of rank while on active duty serving in a Regular Army unit. For example, during the war in Vietnam, a graduate of Army ROTC, commissioned as a USAR 2d lieutenant and serving his initial active duty tour, could be promoted to 1st lieutenant, or even captain, with a "temporary", active duty (i.e., AUS) commission, while still holding the permanent, USAR rank of 2d lieutenant. Another example would be an ARNG officer serving on active duty, who might accept a commission in the Regular Army (RA), and then might be promoted one or two grades in the AUS above their RA grade. This possibility could result in situations in which an Army National Guard captain could be called to active duty and accept a commission as a Regular Army major, then be promoted in the AUS, holding a "temporary", active duty commission at a higher rank, and then could retire after 20 or more years of active duty as a lieutenant colonel or colonel, while actually only having met the time-in-grade requirements (and passed the promotion board selection screening process) for the "permanent", Regular Army rank of major.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ United States Code, Title 32, Subtitle A, Chapter V, Subchapter F, Part 571 Subpart A, Section 571.1(c/3)
- ↑ Bailey, Beth, "America's Army: Making the All-Volunteer Force", Belknap Press; (November 23, 2009)
- ↑ U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1
- ↑ United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001, 10 U.S.C. § 3001
- ↑ Army Regulation 10-87, "Army Commands, Army Service Component Commands, and Direct Reporting Units", Department of the Army (Rev 4 Sep 2007)
- ↑ "Conscription Order #1", Office of the War Department, Records of the Personnel Division (G-1), U.S. National Archives Record Group 165 [1]
- ↑ Haskew, Michael E., "West Point 1915: Eisenhower, Bradley, and the Class the Stars Fell On. Minneapolis", Quarto Publishing Group (2014)
Bibliography[edit]
- "The Draft Force of the United States Army", (Yarborough, William P., Lieutenant General, RA), Self Published, 1973
- Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff, (Bell, William G.), Center of Military History, United States Army, 1997
- The Sergeants Major of the Army, (Gillespie, Mark F., Hawkins, Glen R., Kelly, Michael B, Pierce, Preston E.), Center of Military History, United States Army, 1995
- "Case Reference Guide for Review of Military Records", Military Personnel Records Center, published 2001
- "Army Force Components Training Guide", Military Personnel Records Center, published 2003
- United States Army Service Records (1910–2005), National Personnel Records Center, Overland, Missouri
- Article Two of the United States Constitution
External links[edit]
This article "Army of the United States" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Army of the United States. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
|
This page exists already on Wikipedia. |
