The US Army. Service in the US Army

Which army is the most famous in the whole world? Most likely, American. The Yankees bases are around the globe, on all continents, excluding Antarctica. In general, the American army in recent years has acquired such an incredible amount of rumors and conjectures that it is not easy to isolate something more or less real from there. However, we will try.

Prehistory

When a couple of French expeditionary corps American insurgents defeated the British, a new state appeared on the world map. It was the USA. "New Americans" kindly thanked the French: when they were busy in Europe (it was in 1803, after all), they, under the threat of armed seizure, bought Louisiana for a pittance. After 1812 Napoleon was no longer up to them, so the trick was a success. But when in 1814 they decided to do the same trick with Canada, everything ended badly: the British beat an inept army, reached Washington and burned the White House.

Even then it became clear that the American army of those years did not meet the requirements for the armed forces of the countries of the Old World. In addition, the offended Englishmen and Frenchmen could well have tried to take revenge. Do not forget that the Northern States have long been staring at the riches of the South. The Civil War was planned, to which it was necessary to prepare appropriately.

Civil and First World War

The Civil War of 1861-1865 began. During this time, about a million people died. The lesson went on as before: American engineers were developing new examples of small arms and artillery weapons. It seems that by the beginning of the First World War, the United States had to come fully armed. Alas, but even their rare foresight (as in the Second World War), when the real US troops began to arrive at the front of the war in 1918, did not save the army from trouble.

Contemporaries testify that the Yankees lacked normal field artillery and there was not even a normal unification of small infantry weapons. Former enemies, the French and the British, have helped a lot the future "policemen of the world". In particular, the French artillery calibers, 105 and 155 mm, are still the most common in the American army. However, all this helped them a little.

Judge for yourself. From August to November 1918, dashing warriors managed to lose more than 200 thousand people killed. And this is at a time when the battle of Verdun, which lasted almost all of 1916, claimed 300,000 lives (in total) from the French and Germans.

Given 600,000 wounded, we can say that for a couple of months the American army ceased to exist. The results were horrendous. However, not everything is so bad: the Americans at that time became rich by supplying food and raw materials to the war-torn Europe, effectively enslaving many world governments with loans. It should be noted that during the intervention years of Vladivostok, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, they also exported a lot of material values and gold (in the company of other powers).

A huge number of scientists and engineers emigrated to America, many officers of the former tsarist army also got there. Since that time, the American army began to receive the best examples of weapons and equipment, which immediately affected its combat effectiveness.

Common numbers

It is common knowledge that the United States has an unreal military budget, which also does not take into account the costs of the "partners" for NATO, which annually buy from Americans a considerable amount of equipment. Only according to official figures, in 2014, the army was allocated more than 610 million dollars.

What is the strength of the US Army? According to official data, in the past year there were about 1.5 million people in the ranks of American troops. This is not taking into account 14 thousand people of civilian personnel. In the reserve there are 843.75 thousand servicemen. If we discuss American private armies, we can only guess about their numbers.

Few people know, but after Vietnam, Americans did not abolish the call: it is, but it remains "zero". Simply put, in the case of a large-scale war under the gun, they can deliver from 50 to 80 million people. Of course, this is unrealistic, but it is possible to assemble millions of 30 recruits for sure. In any case, the armament of the American army (more precisely, its volumes) is such that it is entirely possible to complete the whole riot completely.

At us, by the way, the total number of servicemen is also more than one million, but the mobilization reserve is much smaller. The "merry" 90-s turned up, and emigration should not be discarded.

The age of admission to active service is 18 years. But if the decision of the young man was approved by parents, relatives or other categories of guardians, he can go to serve from the age of 17. The maximum possible age of admission is different. In the linear parts - 35 years, in the Marine Corps - 26 years. Thus, the American army is a fairly liberal "organization" in terms of age qualifications.

Form and other "little things"

The "calling card" of any army is the form of its soldiers. Americans are not an exception. In general, the form of the American army is respected by the fact that it is purely practical. There are no absurd demands on the elements of appearance (within reasonable limits, of course), which are so familiar to everyone who has served in the CA or the RF Armed Forces.

Clothing - for all occasions, for all climatic zones. Designers paid attention to the convenience of movements, to protect all important body parts of soldiers. In American military uniforms it is really convenient: in it the soldier sweats less, it provides for the presence of even soft "backpacks" for water, which our soldiers can only dream of.

And this is by no means "a luxury for the pampered Yankees", since at an ambient temperature of +40 degrees Celsius in the shade, such "luxury" can save many lives. In short, the soldiers of the American army do serve in very comfortable conditions.

Especially convenient is the authorized footwear: the mittens are designed exactly for a year of operation. They reliably protect the soldier's ankle. Even in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, there are very few cases of twisted ankles. How can I not remember the heavy and uncomfortable shoes in our troops. In addition, the normal knapsacks (with ergonomic unloading) for Americans have been very long. Again, this is not a luxury: in such a backpack the soldier can drag 15-20% more ammunition. And they, as you know, are life itself under military conditions.

We will not recall our clothing bags that our soldiers inherited from their grandfathers who liberated the whole of Europe ... Fortunately, now the troops are successfully liberating themselves from this terrible anachronism.

Thus, the shape of the US Army is very convenient and practical. It remains to be hoped that our troops will eventually provide with normal clothing and equipment.

A little about the titles

Here, the Americans are all confused. However, we will still try to consider the main ranks in the American army. Of course, the rank and file remains the same in Africa, but then everything is much more complicated. After him goes rank-and-file first class, then corporal, after him - sergeant. In the class of sergeants there are six titles at once. After them - the warrant officer, and so on up to the warrant officer of the fourth class.

Then they go: the second and the first lieutenants, the captain, the major, the lieutenant colonel and the colonel (everything like ours). After that, the ranks in the American army again run counter to ours. Brigadier- General, Major-General / Lieutenant, General. Crowned all this is the army general. It should be noted that the Americans have very "prestigious" titles, in many cases it is the sergeants who perform officer functions "in the field".

Land units

Their total number is about 600 thousand people. To them are also attributed another 528.5 thousand reserve soldiers. Simply put, ground forces in the US army are the largest unit, which is conditioned by specific goals and tasks. For the auxiliary functions, a pair of helicopter brigades, as well as logistic, artillery, medical and some others brigades are responsible.

At the National Guard there are at least 20,000 troops. But reservists there are at least 330 thousand people. It should not be considered that the National Guard is worse armed: it even has tank brigades, not to mention transport helicopters and other "trifles".

Technical equipment

The American army is rightly considered to be the most equipped technically. M1 Abrams alone as of last year has 2338 tanks. Approximately 3.5 thousand are on conservation. There are about a thousand machines on the platform Stryker and another as many - based on similar platforms. As for the infantry, at their disposal there are about 4.6 thousand infantry fighting vehicles M2 and M3 Bradley. Two thousand more are on conservation. And this is, in addition to the "old men" M60 and similar "museum exhibits."

Armored personnel carriers in the US troops are truly a colossal quantity: about 26 thousand cars. Despite all the talk about the need to write-off, still the most common are the M113 of all modifications. There are about 13 thousand of them, and five thousand are in the troops. Armored vehicles are being actively built: in recent years, the troops have about 17,417 MRAP class vehicles, including about 5.7 thousand of the latest M-ATV modifications.

If we compare the American and Russian armies in this vein, then the Americans are clearly ahead: so, as of 2012, there are about nine thousand armored personnel carriers (together with canned goods) of all modifications, including the very old BTR-70. On the availability of BTR-90 in the troops of our country there is still no exact information (they are, but the quantity is unknown).

Weaponry of infantrymen

And what about the infantry? What is the armament of the US Army in this regard? Here everything is relatively standard: rifles M16, carbines M14. There are a number of German NK 416, but they are few. Pistols - most often there is "Beretta", there are "Glocks", sometimes skip the old "Colts of 1911".

As for the submachine guns, the MP5 NK is very common. There is a smooth-bore weapon: "Mossbergs" and "Benelli". A machine gun, in fact, only one. This is the "Browning M2NV" sample as much as 1919! Perhaps, in this respect, the American army is stronger than Russia: our soldiers do not have such a choice of small arms.

Artillery, anti-tank means

Artillery in recent years, Americans do not pay much attention, but still in the army there are about six thousand such systems. These include 969 SAU M109A6 (and another half a thousand for conservation), about 1,242 guns of 105 and 155 mm caliber (remember what we wrote at the beginning of the article?), As well as 1205 MLRS. Approximately 2,500 mortars, including self-propelled guns, are in service.

But our army has a legitimate reason for pride: the total number of domestic ACS and artillery systems is over 14 thousand, and in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation there are also such monsters as "Tulip", which has no analogues.

Especially for fighting tanks, there are about 1,500 anti-tank self-propelled systems, including the Stryker platform. The infantry are given portable anti-tank complexes Javelin, the supplies of which the current Ukrainian government has been negotiating with the US government for the last year.

Air units of the US land units

There are also own aircraft in the land units. It includes about 60 reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of transporters and a half.

But the backbone of "land aviation" is made up of helicopters. So, there are at least 740 "Apache", 356 multi-purpose KiowaWarrior (multipurpose machines), as well as universal HH-60. For the delivery of goods are about three thousand heavy helicopters, including about 500 famous "Chinooks."

Naval Forces

Here is about 320 thousand sailors. Reservists are still 100 thousand. As for the technical means, at the disposal of US Navy there are at least 70 submarines and more than a hundred warships.

The basis of the United States submarine fleet is the Ohio project, armed with tactical nuclear missiles. However, at least four such ships in the recent past were renovated and upgraded, as a result of which they were equipped with cruise missiles Tomahawk, 154 pieces on board. Until now, the US Navy retains a number of nuclear torpedo bombers, which (if necessary) can fire with special missiles, which are also produced through the hatches of torpedo tubes.

Aircraft carriers

At the moment, the US Navy has 10 operating ships of the Nimiz class. At present, work is underway to replace the aviation group with F-16 aircraft. In the attacks on Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, these ships played a significant role, since in many cases it was their aircraft that completely suppressed the main points of resistance.

In general, naval aviation plays an extremely important role in the Navy. As part of this structure, nearly one hundred thousand personnel are serving. Aircraft are very different: there are anti-submarine squadrons, reconnaissance units and strike forces.

In total, the US Naval Aviation has more than a thousand cars. But most of all deck bombers - almost 830 pieces.

Air Force

About 350 thousand people serve in the air force of the country. Another 150 thousand are reservists. In total, the Air Force has about three thousand aircraft of various types and modifications (without taking into account the conserved equipment). As part of long-range aviation, there are about 160 bombers, most of which are the legendary B2.

But the basis of the Air Force is considered to be fighters, ground attack planes and bombers. Most of them are F16 / F35 aircraft. In addition, there are 159 pieces of F-22A Raptor. On them, the US military had high hopes, but the plane was extremely expensive, and was also unable to perform long-term combat missions in a damp climate.

If we compare the American and Russian armies, then things are a little worse for us, but fortunately, in recent years the situation began to straighten out almost at a Soviet rate. So, as of 2015, our long-suffering Air Force began to receive several hundred new aircraft and helicopters per year, whereas in all previous years - often not a single unit.

It should be noted that the total number of the Russian Air Force - information is highly secret. Only according to some data we can assume that we have about 2.3 thousand aircraft. Which, however, is also very, very much. Most of all, the modernization of long-range aviation (TU-95 "Medved" and TU-160 "White Swan"), which has begun at last, is pleased.

Service

That's it, the American army (photos of her soldiers are presented in the article). By the way, how to become one of the "carriers of democracy"? In principle, nothing particularly complicated in this. The most important condition is that the candidate has citizenship or a view of it (Green Card). Having received it, you can safely go to the nearest recruiting center. Say that you want to serve in the US Army, after which you begin to deal with a recruiter.

There are not so many requirements:

• Pass the age limit.
• Answer the test questions ("our among strangers" say that they are very simple).
• To fulfill physical standards: about 30 pull-ups, running, push-ups, squats. In general, a more or less developed person will cope with all this without much difficulty.
• Be clean before the law. In general, even members of street gangs are often accepted into the army, so everything is relative here.
• Do not have large, provoking tattoos on the body. If the tattoo is on the head or neck - you have to reduce them.
• In this, the US and Russian armies are unanimous: drug addicts, alcoholics and mentally unbalanced persons are not allowed to serve.

In general, this is where our story ends. We hope that the article was useful for you.