How much do you know about the U.S. Army?
1. The U.S. Army Is Older Than Our Country
Although the U.S. Army was created by Congress in September 1789, the Continental Army was founded in 1775, so the U.S. Army is technically older than the nation it protects. After Walmart, the Army is now the second-largest employer in the country, with about 500,000 people on active duty and another 200,000 in the reserve.
2. To Participate in the U.S. Army, You Must Have a Good Health
The U.S. Army recruiting standards require recruits to pass the Basic Training Physical Fitness Test, walk 16 miles while carrying an additional 65 pounds, swim 15 meters while wearing full Ranger gear, and run five miles in under 40 minutes in order to complete boot camp and join the Army Rangers. The swim is not timed, though, as this is not the Navy.
3. You Receive a Class Ranking
Based on their achievement in both academics and athletics, West Point cadets are assigned a class rating. The last graduate in his class of 1861 was George Custer. Rankings don’t necessarily indicate whether an army succeeds or fails. Second in his class upon graduation, was Robert E. Lee. Dwight D. Eisenhower came in at number 61.
4. Some Members Wear a Native American Symbol
Prior to 1933, members of the 45th Infantry Division wore a Native American symbol of good luck as a nod to the many Native Americans who served in that division. Now commonly referred to as a swastika, the original insignia was abandoned as the Nazi Party rose to power. Today, members wear a different Native American symbol: a thunderbird.
5. There Have Been Only Five Five-Star Generals in the Army
The rank didn’t exist until 1944, and it was abolished in 1981 after Omar Bradley, the last surviving member, passed away. Eisenhower was the only president to have the title, however, George Washington received a posthumous promotion to the higher rank of six-star general. The other three were George C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, and Henry “Hap” Arnold, the only person to hold the five-star rank in both the Army and the Air Force of the United States of America.
6. Marshall Had a Sweet Spot for His Soldiers
He wrote a telegraph to the Coca-Cola Company in 1943 on Eisenhower’s behalf from the Allied headquarters in North Africa requesting the soft drink for the troops. Within a few months, 148 Coca-Cola employees who held the official title of technical observer but went by the moniker Coca-Cola Colonels filled the ranks. They were paid as commissioned officers and required to wear fatigues, yet their only job was to deliver Cokes to American GIs.
7. Jfk Started the Green Beret
After visiting Fort Bragg in North Carolina in 1961 and spotting an officer wearing one, President John F. Kennedy, the green beret was added to the Special Forces uniform. Kennedy decided that the green covering would serve as the members of this elite team’s official headgear in order to set them apart from other soldiers. Command Sergeant Major Francis Ruddy laid his beret on President Kennedy’s grave at his funeral, continuing a custom that Green Berets visiting Arlington National Cemetery uphold today.
8. Kennedy’s Death Also Affected the 1963 Army-Navy Football Game
A game would have been considered disrespectful during the 30 days the country had declared as a time of national mourning. However, the president was slated to attend, and the Kennedy family personally requested that it continue. (JFK’s favored Navy triumphed.)
9. The First Woman to Serve Posed as a Man
Deborah Sampson, the first woman to serve in the U.S. Army, enlisted in 1781 by pretending to be a man. She suffered numerous wounds during combat, but she frequently attended to them on her own to avoid being seen, even pulling a pistol ball from her own thigh. She was eventually granted an honorable discharge after her name was eventually disclosed after she had been admitted to the hospital and fallen unconscious. Congress granted her husband a widow’s pension following Sampson’s passing.
10. They’ve Had Many Official Songs
The Army has adopted numerous official songs over the years, including “The Field Artillery Song” by John Philip Sousa. In an attempt to replace it, the U.S. Army held a competition in 1948, but no winner was chosen. They tried once more in 1952, but this time they requested tunes from the music business. “The Army’s Always There,” which won, only lasted four years. Many individuals believed that it was too similar to “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts.”
11. Red Teamers Are Trained in “Groupthink Mitigation”
At least at the University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, the Army promotes some dissonance. To enhance military planning and decision-making processes, students are trained in “groupthink mitigation”—playing the devil’s advocate. Red Teamers are the name given to program alums.
12. Germany Has More Army Bases Than Any U.S. State
Eight U.S. Army outposts, more than any one U.S. state, are located in Germany, including USAG Bavaria, the largest overseas garrison in the world. Virginia has the most bases domestically, including the location of the Army’s oldest active-duty infantry regiment. The largest Army base in the nation is Fort Bragg.
13. There Are Lots of Dogs in the U.S.Army
The U.S. Army has hundreds of dogs, all of whom are noncommissioned officers. Additionally, the Army continues to employ horses, which were last used in battle in 2001 when they invaded Afghanistan. More recently, the Army has employed equine-assisted therapy to facilitate reunification between deployed soldiers and their families.