The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and forms military policy with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), both federal executive departments, acting as the principal organs by which military policy is carried out. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.
In military organizations, a colour guard is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young officer (Ensign), while experienced non-commissioned officers are assigned to the protection of the national flag. These NCOs, accompanied sometimes by warrant officers, can be ceremonially armed with either sabres or rifles to protect the colour. Colour guards are generally dismounted, but there are also mounted colour guard formations as well.
The United States has eight federal uniformed services that commission officers as defined by Title 10 and subsequently structured and organized by Title 10, Title 14, Title 32 and Title 42 of the U.S. Code.
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.
"Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy and unofficial march song of the United States Navy. It was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmermann with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. When he composed "Anchors Aweigh", Zimmermann was a lieutenant and had been bandmaster of the United States Naval Academy Band since 1887. Miles was midshipman first class at the academy, in the class of 1907, and had asked Zimmermann to assist him in composing a song for that class, to be used as a football march. Another academy midshipman, Royal Lovell, later wrote what would be adopted into the song as its third verse.
A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards of honor, the firing of volley shots as a salute, drumming and other military elements, with a flag draping over the coffin.
Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States. Today, the Marine Band includes the Marine Chamber Orchestra and Marine Chamber Ensembles.
United States military bands include musical ensembles maintained by the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Air Force, and United States Coast Guard. More broadly, they can also include musical ensembles of other federal and state uniformed services, including the Public Health Service and NOAA Corps, the state defense forces, and the senior military colleges.
"The Army Goes Rolling Along" is the official song of the United States Army and is typically called "The Army Song". It is adapted from an earlier work titled the "U.S. Field Artillery March".
Semper Paratus is a Latin phrase, meaning "Always Ready". Sometimes shortened to Semper P. It is used as the official motto of some organizations, such as the United States Coast Guard. A 1928 song of the same name is also used as the U.S. Coast Guard's official march, and appears on the organization's flag.
"Semper Paratus" is a 1928 song and the official march of the United States Coast Guard, having been composed in 1927 by U.S. Coast Guard Captain Francis Saltus Van Boskerck.
The Bastille Day military parade, also known as the 14 July military parade, translation of the French name of Défilé militaire du 14 juillet, is a French military parade that has been held on the morning of 14 July each year in Paris since 1880, almost without exception. The parade passes down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées from Place Charles de Gaulle, centred around the Arc de Triomphe, to the Place de la Concorde, where the President stands, along with members of the Government, figures from the legislative branch, the Mayor of Paris, as well as foreign ambassadors to France.
A Capitol Fourth is an annual Independence Day concert special broadcast by PBS. It is presented from the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., and is also simulcast by NPR and the American Forces Network.
The "Marines' Hymn" is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps, introduced by the first director of the USMC Band, Francesco Maria Scala. Its music originates from an 1867 work by Jacques Offenbach with the lyrics added by an anonymous author at an unknown time in the following years. Authorized by the Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1929, it is the oldest official song in the United States Armed Forces. The "Marines' Hymn" is typically sung at the position of attention as a gesture of respect. However, the third verse is also used as a toast during formal events, such as the birthday ball and other ceremonies.
The National Memorial Day Concert is a free annual concert performed on the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., in commemoration of Memorial Day from 1989-2019 and in 2022. In 2020 and 2021, the concert was broadcast on PBS and streamed, but was not live, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is held on a Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend. It is broadcast on PBS, and can also be seen overseas by U.S. military personnel in more than 175 countries and aboard more than 200 U.S. Navy ships at sea on American Forces Network. The concert is viewed and heard by millions across the country and the world, as well as, in every year but 2020 and 2021, attended by more than half a million people at the United States Capitol.
The Band of the Ceremonial Guard is an ad hoc military band that is attached to the Canadian Forces Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa. All members of the band are fully trained members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and consists of personnel principally from the two Foot Guards regiments and has even since 2007 been manned by a pan–Canadian Forces approach that is inclusive to musicians from the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. The band forms a separate company within the CG and rely on the Headquarters Company for administration and support personnel. In full composition, the band is active from April to August.
The Music of the NOAA Corps of the United States principally consists of two songs, "Forward with NOAA" and "Into the Oceans and the Air".
