United States Army

The United States Army is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces, founded on 14 June 1775 and headquartered at the Pentagon. As of March 31, 2026, it was the largest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, with 458,080 active-duty soldiers. Its motto, “This We’ll Defend,” has been in use since 1778, making it nearly as old as the United States itself. The Army answers to the civilian Secretary of the Army and the military Chief of Staff of the Army, who sits as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Key facts

  • Country: United States
  • Founded: 14 June 1775
  • Headquarters: The Pentagon
  • Type: army
  • Parent organisation: United States Department of the Army
  • Website: https://www.army.mil

Structure and Leadership

The Army is organized under the United States Department of the Army. At its head stand two officers of parallel authority: a civilian Secretary of the Army and a military Chief of Staff of the Army. As of April 2, 2026, General Christopher LaNeve serves as acting Chief of Staff following the removal of General Randy George, who had held the position since September 2023 as the 41st Chief of Staff. General George was asked to retire by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on April 2, 2026.

Beginning in 2003, the Army undertook what was described at the time as its largest structural shift since World War II: a transition from a division-centric force to a brigade-centric modular force. That reorganization reduced the number of distinct combat brigade types from 17 to three — infantry, Stryker, and heavy.

The Army Transformation Initiative

In a memorandum dated April 30, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI). The memorandum called for eliminating 1,000 staff positions at Headquarters, Department of the Army; merging Army Futures Command and Training and Doctrine Command into a new Transformation and Training Command; and consolidating Army North and Army South into a single Western Hemisphere Command.

In August 2025, the Congressional Research Service warned that the ATI could affect the availability of Army forces to support Combatant Command requirements and the effectiveness of Army ground operations. The same assessment noted that as of mid-2025 the Army lacked metrics to determine whether the initiative was achieving its goals.

Budget and Resources

The Army’s fiscal year 2026 operations and maintenance request totaled $73.4 billion, a 6.4 percent increase over fiscal year 2025 enacted totals. Included in that figure was $2.4 billion designated for barracks sustainment, restoration, and modernization.

The authorized active-duty end-strength for fiscal year 2026 was set at 454,000 soldiers, an increase of 11,700 over the fiscal year 2025 authorized level of 442,300.

Recruiting

The Army’s fiscal year 2025 recruiting goal was set at 61,000 soldiers, more than 10 percent higher than the fiscal year 2024 goal of 55,000. Average contracts per day exceeded the prior year’s levels by as much as 56 percent during the same period. The goal was met four months ahead of schedule, reversing two consecutive years of shortfalls in 2022 and 2023 when the service missed its targets by tens of thousands of recruits.

Technology and Training

In September 2026, the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps conducted exercise Scarlet Dragon 26-3 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The exercise tested artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, radar, and autonomous systems against coordinated drone swarms of up to 100 unmanned aircraft.

History and Milestones

On July 26, 1948, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981, which abolished racial segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces. The Army initially resisted the order, and the last all-Black Army unit was not disbanded until the end of 1954.

The Army’s motto, “This We’ll Defend,” first appeared on record in 1778, used by the War Office of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. It appears on both the official U.S. Army flag and the Department of the Army emblem.

On June 14, 2025, the Army commemorated its 250th anniversary with a military parade along Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. The event drew a crowd of over 200,000 and featured over 6,000 Army soldiers, along with tanks, helicopters, and jets from different war periods.

Did you know

  • The Army’s motto “This We’ll Defend” dates to 1778, when it was first recorded as a phrase of the Continental Army’s War Office during the Revolutionary War, making it nearly as old as the United States itself. (garmonttactical.com)
  • The Army’s fiscal year 2025 recruiting goal of 61,000 was itself 10 percent higher than the previous year’s goal, yet was achieved four months early, reversing two consecutive years of failure in 2022 and 2023 when the service missed its targets by tens of thousands of recruits. (militarytimes.com)

Data sources

Where it appears

Data updated: 2026-10-31