Military

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

Members of the British armed forces from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and British Army

The military is the men and women who work in the army, navy, air force, or other armed forces of a country. The military protects its country by defending it from the armed forces of enemies, if there is a war. The military can also be ordered by the government of the country to attack another country. The word "military" comes from Latin mliles, warrior.

People in the military learn many skills, such as how to fire rifles and mortars, drive jeeps, and repair weapons. Other people in the military learn how to fly planes, pilot ships, or repair engines. People in the military usually wear clothes called a uniform, which is often in a camouflage pattern which is designed to make the person hard to see in the forest or desert.

There are two ways to join the military. In many countries, people join the military as volunteers (because they want to). In other countries, there are laws that some people have to be in the military, even if they do not want to be. This is called the draft or conscription. It usually depends on age and fitness. People who have been in the military but have left or retired are called “veterans”.

The military of a country is usually divided into different branches organizations that do different kinds of work. These branches usually are:

Army - A military force of soldiers on land or driving in land vehicles.
Navy - A military force that uses ships and boats. People in a navy are called sailors unless they are officers.
Air force - A military force that uses mainly airplanes.

Sometimes the military has more branches that do more specialized work. For example, in the United States and United Kingdom there are:

Marines - Military forces that serve on ships, but are also trained to fight on land when needed. They work closely with a navy, but are not sailors.

1 Joining up and training
2 Groups
3 Grade
- 3.1 Ranks in the United States military
  - 3.1.1 US Army
  - 3.1.2 US Navy
4 Military in action
5 Other pages
6 References

[change] Joining up and training

In most countries of the world, young men and (in a few countries) women between 17 and 18 and of good health may be forced by the government of their country to join the military and have military training. This is called "conscription". The countries that do not have conscription include Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malta, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom and United States. In some countries, such as Argentina, conscription is legal, but is not used, at the present time.

When a person wants to join the military as a volunteer, they "enlist". (This means simply that they put their name on a list.) They have to be above a certain age, 17 or 18 in most countries. They have to pass fitness tests to show that they are well enough to do the jobs that they will have to do. They must also have good enough hearing, to hear instructions and good enough sight to use a rifle.

New people in the military are often called “recruits”. They have training at a special camp, sometimes called “boot camp”. During this training, the recruits usually have very little free time. They learn to understand the "orders" or "commands" that are given by the officers to the "troops". (The troops are the military people in a group.) They learn the right ways to obey the orders. They do a lot of exercise to improve their fitness and strength. They learn about weapons, first aid, and their uniforms and "kit". (Their kit is their equipment.) Recruits also learn how to march. (This is the way to walk together, keeping "in step".) Learning to march is sometimes called “drill”. By the time soldiers finish "boot camp", they should know enough to be a helpful person in their group. The camp usually finishes with a parade in which the newly trained recruits show off their marching and other skills they have learnt to important visitors. Once the recruits are fully trained, they are ready to defend (protect) their country from attack, or to go to war, if necessary.

Training
An Australian soldier training for a special task

Rifle practice
Finnish military police target shooting

Equipment
United States soldiers on a vehicle crossing a lake

Marching
Italian paratroopers in a parade

[change] Groups

Each part of the armed forces, the army, the navy and the airforce, is organized into groups. People in each of the armed forces are part of a group, that is part of a larger group.

Here are some of the usual groups in the army:

Squad - has 10 or more soldiers, led by a Staff Sergeant. A squad can usually fit into one army truck.
Platoon - has 4 squads, and has about 40 soldiers. It is led by a 2nd Lieutenant with a Sergeant First Class as a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Assistant.
Company - has 4 Platoons, and has about 160 soldiers. It is led by a Captain with a First Sergeant as a NCO Assistant.
Battalion - it is made up of between 4 to 8 companies. It is led by a Lieutenant Colonel with a Sergeant Major as a NCO Assistant.
Regiment or Brigade - generally has 3 Battalions. It is led by a Colonel with a Command Sergeant Major (or Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM)) as the senior Non-commissioned officer.
Division- is a group of regiments, led by a Major General(O-8)^[1] with a Command Sergeant Major (or RSM) as the advisor.
Corps- an army corps (pronounced "core") is led by a Lieutenant General (O-9)^[2].

Russian troops

A sergeant drilling US Marines

Air Chief Marshall Rapra-Pan of the Royal Thai Airforce

British Major-General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter KCVO OBE(RLH)

[change] Grade

[change] Ranks in the United States military

All branches of the US military have both Officers and Enlisted. Enlisted people with a rank of E-5 and above are called Non-commissioned Officers (NCOs). It is usually their job to make sure that common jobs are done properly every day. Each branch also includes Warrant Officers (Chief Warrant Officers in the Navy) . These were enlisted members who have been made officers. They are of higher rank than other enlisted troops, but below officers. There are four ranks of Warrant Officers: WO-1 through WO-4 (CWO-1 to CWO-4)

[change] US Army

Here are some common ranks for the US Army, Air Force and Marines. Each branch of the military uses different names for the enlisted ranks, but they all use the same for officers.

Rank	Army	Marines	Air Force
Enlisted Ranks
E-1	Private	Private	Airman Basic
E-2	Private	Private First Class	Airman
E-3	Private First Class	Lance Corporal	Airman First Class
E-4	Corporal Specialist 4	Corporal	Sergeant Senior Airman
E-5	Sergeant Specialist 5	Sergeant	Staff Sergeant
E-6	Staff Sergeant Specialist 6	Staff Sergeant	Technical Sergeant
E-7	Sergeant First Class Specialist 7	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
E-8	Master Sergeant First Sergeant	Master Sergeant First Sergeant	Senior Master Sergeant
E-9	Sergeant Major	Sergeant Major Master Gunnery Sergeant	Chief Master Sergeant
E-10*	Sergeant Major of the Army	Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps	Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force

*: There is only one E-10 in each branch at a time.

Rank	Title
Officer Ranks
O-1	Second Lieutenant
O-2	First Lieutenant
O-3	Captain
O-4	Major
O-5	Lieutenant Colonel
O-6	Colonel
O-7	Brigadier General
O-8	Major General
O-9	Lieutenant General
O-10	General

[change] US Navy

The Navy has different ranks.

Rank	Title	notes
Enlisted Ranks
E-1	recruit	These ranks are divided into three groups:Seaman, Airman, and Fireman. The rank uses both the group and the title. For example an E-2 (apprentice) who is a Seaman is a Seaman Apprentice. An E-3 just uses Seaman, Airman, or Fireman.
E-2	apprentice
E-3	Seaman, Fireman, or Airman
E-4	Petty Officer 3rd class	Petty Officers are more commonly referred to by their speciality ("rate"} and class. For example, a Electronics Technician (ET) who is an E-5 is called an Electronics Technician 2nd class (ET2)
E-5	Petty Officer 2nd class
E-6	Petty Officer 1st class
E-7	Chief Petty Officer	Chief Petty officers are referred to commonly by their level as chief (Chief, Senior Chief, or Master Chief) and officially by their level and rate (Chief Electronics Technician - ETC, Senior Chief Electronics Technician - ETCS, Master Chief Electronics Technician - ETCM)
E-8	Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-9	Master Chief Petty Officer
E-10	Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy	There is only one Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy at a time.
Officer Ranks
O-1	Ensign
O-2	Lieutenant Junior Grade	Commonly just called Lieutenant. Sometimes Lieutenant JG is used
O-3	Lieutenant
O-4	lieutenant Commander
O-5	Commander
O-6	Captain	Same as the rank of Commodore in many other navies
O-7	Rear Admiral	There are two ranks of Rear Admiral. While both are called the same, O-7 is Rear Admiral lower half. Lower half is only used when being very official.
O-8	Rear Admiral
O-9	Vice Admiral
O-10	Admiral	The rank of Fleet Admiral also O-10 but is only uses at times of war

[change] Military in action

An aircraft carrier (front), a frigate and a submarine	US, UK and Australian planes	HMAS Anzac patrolling the Persian Gulf	Strike Eagle over Afghanistan
British Land Rover patrol vehicles in Iraq	Paratroopers in an aircraft	Helicopters in Iraq	US soldiers in Iraq
Charles, Prince of Wales visiting his regiment in Iraq in 2004	US soldiers having lunch in Iraq	A US soldier carrying a wounded child	This US officer has three artificial legs, one for walking, one for running and one with an army boot.
A US sniper team	The four soldiers on this wrecked US helicopter escaped alive.	US soldiers carrying the body of a soldier	US soldiers in Iraq at a ceremony to honour military persons who have been killed