On June 14 1775 the Continental Congress called for the formation of ten companies of expert rifleman. These riflemen came from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia and comprised the 1st Continental Regiment. Their standard weapon was the rifled long rifle also known as the Kentucky rifle. The longer range and marksmanship of the 1st Continental Regiment was commented on by James Thatcher the regimental surgeon. British officers and enlisted men were often picked off at twice the range of the musket an early chapter in the American tradition of marksmanship.
The Army is the nation’s oldest and largest service. Its flag has 183 campaign streamers, most campaigns consisting of many more than one battle and sometimes involving more than a 100 thousand soldiers. The Army’s history is the nation’s history, as soldiers have paid more than 80% of the nation’s bill in blood over our 238 years.
Army culture (or personality) is a product of its founding, mission, history and make up. Carl Builder, a senior operations research specialist at Rand Corp for almost 30 years wrote a seminal study on American military strategy and culture called the Masks of War. Paraphrasing Major Rhett B. Lawing (USAF) summary of Builder’s perspective of Army culture in Air & Space Power Journal – Chronicles Online Journal:
”the Army, as the most altruistic of the services, worships at the altar of the “country” through selfless service and personal sacrifice. The Army, accepts the cyclic expansion and contraction induced by shrinking budgets, peace dividends and shifting national interests, but still measures itself by end strength. A soldier places the art of soldiering above the toys and tech of his profession. Intra-service distinctions, play out very simply as traditional combat arms of infantry, artillery, and armor are held in the highest regard while the others are relegated to support roles. However, Builder found a greater cohesiveness between Army branches than in either the Air Force or the Navy. The Army has no significant insecurities concerning its legitimacy or relevancy. Despite its inarguable importance to national defense, the Army has often been forced to accept and adapt to massive force structure cuts and loss of capabilities due to national budgetary concerns. This has created the ability to find ways to accomplish assigned missions without the resources normally deemed necessary to complete the task.”
We can see this at work today with the Army absorbing the overwhelming majority of cuts as it drops from a 570 thousand man force to a little less than 450 thousand and maybe even less. It will be the smallest it’s been since before WWII.
None the less the Army continues to fulfill its mission that being “to fight and win our Nation’s wars…” It represents the nation’s largest commitment to Afghanistan’s defense. Simultaneously the Army is reorganizing and deploying its forces in defense of the nation’s interests. Today we have Army troops and Infantry in Africa, Kuwait, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and more.
So on this Flag Day, just like every day, we can be assured that the Army is living up to its motto, “This We’ll Defend”. Happy 239th Birthday US Army, and the Infantry