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Military Spouse Day or Military Spouse Appreciation Day is celebrated on the Friday before Mother's Day in the United States. Many United States citizens take this day to acknowledge the significant contributions, support, and sacrifices of spouses of their Armed Forces. Each year, the US President normally commemorates this day with a ceremonial speech and proclamation.
President Ronald Reagan recognized the profound importance of spouse commitment to the readiness and well-being of military members and declared May 23, 1984 the first Military Spouse Day with Proclamation 5184, dated April 17, 1984. [1] The US Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger standardized the date by declaring the Friday preceding Mother's Day as Military Spouse Day. On May 12, 2017, Donald Trump issued a Presidential proclamation for Military Spouse Day. [2] [3]
The War Powers Resolution is a federal law intended to check the U.S. president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. The resolution was adopted in the form of a United States congressional joint resolution. It provides that the president can send the U.S. Armed Forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by Congress, "statutory authorization," or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."
American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. (AGSM), is a private nonprofit organization of American mothers who lost sons or daughters in service of the United States Armed Forces. It was originally formed in 1928 for mothers of those lost in World War I, and it holds a congressional charter under Title 36 § 211 of the United States Code. Its name came from the custom of families of servicemen hanging a banner called a service flag in the windows of their homes. The service flag had a star for each family member in the Armed Forces. Living servicemen were represented by a blue star, and those who had lost their lives in combat were represented by a gold star.
In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year in memory of the people killed in the September 11 attacks of the year 2001.
James Norman Mattis is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from January 2017 to January 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, and conducts broad and continuing missions. There are currently 11 unified combatant commands and each are established as the highest echelons of military commands, in order to provide effective command and control of all U.S. military forces, regardless of branch of service, during peace or during war time. Unified combatant commands are organized either on a geographical basis or on a functional basis, i.e. special operations, power projection, transport, and cybersecurity. Currently, seven combatant commands are designated as geographical, and four are designated as functional. Unified combatant commands are "joint" commands and have specific badges denoting their affiliation.
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law that empowers the President of the United States to deploy U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States in particular circumstances, such as to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion.
The United States Department of Defense is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. The DOD is the largest employer in the world, with over 1.3 million active-duty service members as of 2020. More employees include over 826,000 National Guard and reservists from the armed forces, and over 732,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.8 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the DoD's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".
United Arab Emirates–United States relations are bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. The United Arab Emirates has been described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S.national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces Generals and U.S.secretary of defense James Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East.
On August 3, 1990, President of the United States George H. W. Bush declared the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month, thereafter commonly referred to as Native American Heritage Month. The bill read in part that “the President has authorized and requested to call upon Federal, State and local Governments, groups and organizations and the people of the United States to observe such month with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities”. This landmark bill honoring America's tribal people represented a major step in the establishment of this celebration which began in 1976 when a Cherokee/Osage Indian named Jerry C. Elliott-High Eagle authored Native American Awareness Week legislation the first historical week of recognition in the nation for native peoples. This led to 1986 with then President President Reagan proclaiming November 23-30, 1986 as "American Indian Week." This commemorative month aims to provide a platform for Native people in the United States of America to share their culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, and ways and concepts of life. This gives Native people the opportunity to express to their community, both city, county and state officials their concerns and solutions for building bridges of understanding and friendship in their local area. Federal Agencies are encouraged to provide educational programs for their employees regarding Native American history, rights, culture and contemporary issues, to better assist them in their jobs and for overall awareness.
Not all armed forces have policies explicitly permitting LGBT personnel. Generally speaking, Western European militaries show a greater tendency toward inclusion of LGBT individuals. As of January 2021, 21 countries allow transgender military personnel to serve openly: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Cuba and Thailand reportedly allowed transgender service in a limited capacity. In 1974, the Netherlands was the first country to allow transgender military personnel. The United States has allowed Transgender personnel to serve in the military under varying conditions since Joe Biden's signing of an executive order.
The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of the only term of Donald Trump as president and Mike Pence as vice president. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony held on Friday, January 20, 2017, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
The foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 2017 to 2021, during the presidency of Donald Trump. U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump was noted for its unpredictability and reneging of prior international commitments, upending diplomatic conventions, embracing political and economic brinkmanship with most adversaries, and straining relations with traditional allies. Trump's "America First" policy pursued nationalist foreign policy objectives and prioritized bilateral relations over multinational agreements. As president, Trump described himself as a nationalist while espousing isolationist, non-interventionist, and protectionist views; he personally praised some populist, neo-nationalist, illiberal, and authoritarian governments while antagonizing others as administration diplomats nominally continued to pursue pro-democracy ideals abroad.
Under the 2020 version of DoD Instruction, 1300.28, transgender personnel in the United States military were denied equal opportunity to serve or enlist in the United States military, except if they served in their original sex assignment, had been grandfathered in prior to April 12, 2019, or were given a waiver. This Memorandum, originally scheduled to expire on March 12, 2020, was extended until September 12, 2020. Before it expired, it was replaced by a reissued version of DoD Instruction 1300.28, "Military Service by Transgender Persons and Persons with Gender Dysphoria", which took effect on September 4, 2020.
The Presidential Memorandum on Military Service by Transgender Individuals, officially the Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, is the 27th presidential memorandum signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on August 25, 2017. The intent was to prevent transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. Federal courts delayed the implementation of this rule by issuing four injunctions. On January 22, 2019, however, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration's ban to take effect.
The Trump trans soldier exclusion took effect with the Directive-type Memorandum-19-004 signed by David L. Norquist of the United States Department of Defense. The DTM banned most transgender individuals from serving or enlisting in the United States Armed Forces and applied to all organizational entities in the United States Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard.
Women Veterans Day is observed on June 12 in the United States, a date chosen to mark the anniversary of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act. The date is not recognized nationally, but is recognized by a number of states, either through legislation or proclamation, and organizations. The stated goal of Women Veterans Day varies somewhat by state, but can generally be acknowledged as an effort to honor the work of women in the United States Armed Forces and recognize the unique challenges that they have faced. The date was first recognized when the New York State Assembly declared June 12, 2008 to be Women Veterans’ Recognition Day.
For Examples of Military Spouse Sacrifices see,