14 June 2008

Happy Birthday, US Army!


The United States Army was founded on June 14, 1775 as the Continental Army to fight the British. Later, the Continental Army was replaced by the United States Army under the newly-established War Department. The US Army was a volunteer army until the first conscriptions took place during the Civil War. After the Vietnam War the US Army once again became an all-volunteer force.

Many units active today can trace their roots to the orginal colonial army, such as parts of the 5th Field Artillery, the 112th Field Artillery ("NJ Guns"), Pennsylvania's 111th Infantry (Stryker), and Rhode Island's 705th AAA Gun Battalion, as well as the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Quartermaster Corps.

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