Military branch

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A United States Armed Forces Joint-Service Color Guard. This color guard consists of personnel from 5 of the 6 military branches of the United States Armed Forces (Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard). Fairfax July 4th QD3J0015 (28027705992).jpg
A United States Armed Forces Joint-Service Color Guard. This color guard consists of personnel from 5 of the 6 military branches of the United States Armed Forces (Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard).

Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state.

Contents

Types of branches

TypeRoleExample (if atypical)
Air and space force Air and space warfare French Air and Space Force
Airborne forces Paratrooper operations Russian Airborne Forces
Air defence force Air and missile defense Egyptian Air Defense Forces
Air force Aerial warfare
Army Ground warfare
Border guard Border security Vietnam Border Guard
Coast guard Maritime security United States Coast Guard
Cyber force Cyberwarfare Digital and Intelligence Service (Singapore)
Emergencies service Disaster relief and emergency management Military Emergencies Unit (Spain)
Engineering service Military engineering Construction and Engineering Forces (Mongolia)
Gendarmerie Military police force National Gendarmerie (France)
Logistics service Military logistics Joint Support Service (Germany)
Marines Naval land force United States Marine Corps
Medical service Medical service Belgian Medical Component
Military police Military law enforcement agency Republic of China Military Police
Military reserve force National reserve and auxiliary service Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces
Navy Naval warfare
Rocket force Military rocketry People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (China)
Space force Space warfare United States Space Force
Special forces Special operations Polish Special Forces

Unified armed forces

The Canadian Armed Forces is the unified armed forces of Canada. While it has three environmental commands - namely the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force - it remains a single military service.[ citation needed ]

NATO definition

Branch of service (also branch of military service or branch of armed service) refers, according to NATO standards, to a branch, employment of combined forces or parts of a service, below the level of service, military service, or armed service. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military academy</span> Higher education institution operated by or for the military

A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Armed Forces</span> Unified military force

The Canadian Armed Forces are the unified military forces of Canada, including land, sea, and air commands referred to as the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. The CAF also operates several other commands, including the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, the Canadian Joint Operations Command, and the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander-in-chief</span> Supreme commanding authority of a military

A commander in chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state, head of government, or other designated government official.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military police</span> Police organization part of the military of a state

Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear reconnaissance, logistic traffic management, counterinsurgency, and detainee handling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military band</span> Class of musical ensembles

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 Music director. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gendarmerie</span> Military force also tasked with law enforcement among the civilian population

A gendarmerie is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term gendarme is derived from the medieval French expression gens d'armes, which translates to "men-at-arms", or "rural police". In France and some Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is a branch of the armed forces that is responsible for internal security in parts of the territory, with additional duties as military police for the armed forces. It was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests. In the mid-twentieth century, a number of former French mandates and colonial possessions adopted a gendarmerie after independence. A similar concept exists in Eastern Europe in the form of Internal Troops, which are present in many countries of the former Soviet Union and its former allied countries.

A cadet is a student or trainee, and is typically used in military settings to denote an individual undergoing training to become commissioned officers. Several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime organisations, and police services, also designate their trainees as cadets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provost marshal</span> Title for a leader of military police

Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, provosts, from the Old French prévost. While a provost marshal is now usually a senior commissioned officer, they may be a person of any rank who commands any number of MPs; historically, the title was sometimes applied to civilian officials, especially under conditions of martial law, or when a military force had day-to-day responsibility for some or all aspects of civilian law enforcement. A provost marshal may also oversee security services, imprisonment, fire/emergency services and ambulances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military colours, standards and guidons</span> Flags, coats of arms, and other signals used to aid in military navigation

In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago. The Roman Empire also made battle standards reading SPQR a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, with standards being emblazoned with the commander's coat of arms.

The uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces are the official dress worn by members of Canada's military while on duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personnel branch</span> Groupings of related military occupations in the Canadian Armed Forces

Personnel branches, in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), are groupings of related military occupations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Canadian Logistics Service</span> Unified logistics branch of the Canadian Armed Forces

The Royal Canadian Logistics Service is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal Branch</span> Military unit

The Legal Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). It primarily deals with the Canadian Forces' legal affairs. Legal officers are primarily accepted through the Direct-Entry Training Program, and must have a degree in law as well as be a member of a Canadian provincial or territorial bar. However, the CAF also selects a few currently serving members each year to attend law school and join the Legal Branch through the Military Legal Training Plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Branch (Canadian Forces)</span> Music Branch of the Canadian Armed Forces

The Music Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). It is primarily composed of band musicians, and also deals with the selection and musical training of its recruits. The branch encompasses all the military bands in service in the Canadian Armed Forces. It is roughly the equivalent to the British Army's Royal Corps of Army Music (CAMUS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guard of honour</span> Military honour guard unit

A guard of honour, honor guard or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, especially funerals. In military weddings, especially those of commissioned officers, a guard, composed usually of service members of the same branch, form the sabre arch. In principle, any military unit could act as a guard of honour. However, in some countries, certain units are specially assigned to undertake guard of honour postings or other public duties. Republican guards, royal guards and foot guards frequently have ceremonial duties assigned to them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Canadian Dental Corps</span> Military unit

The Royal Canadian Dental Corps is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Most members of RCDC, along with the members of the Royal Canadian Medical Service, are employed in the Canadian Forces Health Services Group within the Military Personnel Command reporting to the Chief of Military Personnel. All members of RCDC wear Army uniform. The branch was first raised in 1915 as the Canadian Army Dental Corps and was known from 1947 until 1968 as The Royal Canadian Dental Corps. From 1968 to 2013 the branch was previously named the Dental Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military organization</span> Structuring of armed forces of a state

Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries, paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces, though not considered military. Armed forces that are not a part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often emulate military organizations, or use these structures, while formal military organization tends to use hierarchical forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provost (military police)</span>

Provosts are military police (MP) whose duties are policing solely within the armed forces of a country, as opposed to gendarmerie duties in the civilian population. However, many countries use their gendarmerie for provost duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces</span> 1968 merger of the Canadian Armed Forces

The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air force</span> Military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare

An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviation or naval aviation units. Typically, air forces are responsible for gaining control of the air, carrying out strategic and tactical bombing missions, and providing support to land and naval forces often in the form of aerial reconnaissance and close air support.

References

  1. MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSSAR ENGLISCH Teil I, A – K, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001), page 226, definition: branch of service.