The military defense of Puerto Rico is the responsibility of the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris. Locally,Puerto Rico has its own National Guard,the Puerto Rico National Guard,and its own state defense force,the Puerto Rico State Guard,which,by local law,is under the authority of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The commander-in-chief of both forces is the governor of Puerto Rico,currently Pedro Pierluisi,who delegates his authority to the Puerto Rico Adjutant General,currently Major General JoséJ. Reyes. The Adjutant General,in turn,delegates the authority over the State Guard to another officer but retains the authority over the Puerto Rico National Guard as a whole. At the national level,the commander-in-chief is the President of the United States,currently Donald J. Trump.
The Inter-American Defense College (IADC) is the educational entity of the Inter-American Defense Board,an independent entity of the Organization of American States. The College states that faculty,staff and student body are international,and that broad international participation provides an exceptional opportunity for the free exchange of ideas and forms a foundation for better inter-American understanding. The IADC holds a permanent license from the District of Columbia Higher Education Licensing Commission (DC-HELC) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
William A. Navas Jr. is a retired United States Army major general who served as the director of the Army National Guard. He is also the first Puerto Rican to be named an Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was founded in December 1976 as a legislative service organization of the United States House of Representatives. The CHC is organized as a Congressional Member organization,governed under the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in the American Civil War and in every conflict which the United States has been involved since World War I. In World War II,more than 65,000 Puerto Rican service members served in the war effort,including the guarding of U.S. military installations in the Caribbean and combat operations in the European and Pacific theatres.
Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy account for the largest minority group in the institution. According to the academy,the Class of 2009 includes 271 (22.2%) minority midshipmen. Out of these 271 midshipmen,115 are of Hispanic heritage. In 2004,of the total of 736 female midshipmen,74 (10%) of them were of Hispanic descent.
Hispanic Americans,also referred to as Latinos,served in all elements of the American armed forces in the war. They fought in every major American battle in the war. Between 400,000 and 500,000 Hispanic Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II,out of a total of 16,000,000,constituting 3.1% to 3.2% of the U.S. Armed Forces. The exact number is unknown as,at the time,Hispanics were not tabulated separately,but were included in the general white population census count. Separate statistics were kept for African Americans and Asian Americans.
Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps,such as Private France Silva who during the Boxer Rebellion became the first Marine of the thirteen Marines of Latin American descent to be awarded the Medal of Honor,and Private First Class Guy Gabaldon who is credited with capturing over 1,000 enemy soldiers and civilians during World War II,have distinguished themselves in combat. Hispanics have participated as members of the United States Marine Corps in the Boxer Rebellion,World War I,the American intervention in Latin America also known as the Banana Wars,World War II,the Korean War,the Vietnam War,the Gulf War and most recently in the military campaigns of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Jaime Soto is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Sacramento since 2007. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange from 2000 to 2007.
Darren Michael Soto is an American attorney and Democratic politician from Kissimmee,Florida,who is the U.S. representative for Florida's 9th district.
Commencing with World War I,Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in every conflict in which the United States has been involved. Accordingly,thousands of Puerto Ricans served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the Vietnam War,also known as the Second Indochina War. Hundreds of them died,either killed in action (KIA) or while prisoners of war (POW). The Vietnam War started as a Cold War,and escalated into a military conflict that spread to Vietnam,Laos,and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30,1975.
Rubén Marinelarena Gallego is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party,Gallego served from 2015 to 2025 as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 3rd congressional district. He was also a member of the Arizona House of Representatives,where he was assistant minority leader from 2012 until he resigned to run for Congress. Gallego was first elected to Congress in 2014. His district included most of southern,western,and downtown Phoenix and part of Glendale.
Hispanics in the American Civil War fought on both the Union and Confederate sides of the conflict. Not all the Hispanics who fought in the American Civil War were "Hispanic Americans" —in other words citizens of the United States. Many of them were Spanish subjects or nationals from countries in the Caribbean,Central and South America. Some were born in what later became a U.S. territory and therefore did not have the right to U.S. citizenship. It is estimated that approximately 3,500 Hispanics,mostly Mexican-Americans,Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in the United States joined the war:2,500 for the Confederacy and 1,000 for the Union. This number increased to 10,000 by the end of the war.
Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF),the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II. The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force,which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18,1947,under the National Security Act of 1947. In the U.S.,the term Hispanic categorizes any citizen or resident of the United States,of any racial background,of any country,and of any religion,who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin but has an ancestor from Mexico,Puerto Rico,Cuba,Central or South America,or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans,Puerto Ricans,and Cubans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million,or 16% of the U.S. population,and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority. The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico,thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1,2005.
Marc Henry Sasseville Frontera is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general who served as the 12th Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau. He previously served as the commander of the Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and concurrently as commander of the First Air Force from June 2019 to August 2020. Sasseville previously served as commander of the 113th Wing,District of Columbia Air National Guard at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and was the first Hispanic American to hold the position.
Each state in the United States has a senior military officer,as the state adjutant general,who is the de facto commander of a state's military forces,including the National Guard residing within the state,the state's naval militia,and any state defense forces. This officer is known as TAG,and is subordinated to the chief executive. They do not have authority over police forces,only military forces.
Latino Americans make up an increasing share of the United States (U.S.) electorate. A significant proportion of Hispanic and Latino Americans vote for the Republican Party,and increasing numbers have been elected to office as Republicans.
Charles Lutcher Southward was a United States Army major general who served as director of the Army National Guard and commander of the District of Columbia National Guard.
The Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is a senior position within the United States Department of Veterans Affairs that is responsible for the operation and policies of the Board of Veterans' Appeals,which is the administrative tribunal within the department responsible for holding hearings and issuing decisions on behalf of the Secretary regarding veterans' claims for benefits and services.
United States Army 
Brigadier General