United States Armed Forces

"'Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won or lost by men.'"

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of America. They mainly consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

High Ground
For millennia, armies have sought to occupy the high ground as the most basic part of operations and tactics. Armies and empires have risen and fallen as a consequence of who has occupied the high ground.

American Civil War (1861 - 1865)
The war between the northern US states and the Confederate states of the South.

The war was fought over the issues of slavery and states' rights. The pro-slavery southern states seceded from the Federal Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln on an anti-slavery platform, but were defeated by the North.

World War I (1914 - 1918)
A war in which the Central Powers were defeated by an alliance of Britain and its dominions, France, Russia, and others, later joined by Italy and the US.

Political tensions over the rise of the German Empire were the war's principal cause, although it was set off by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Bosnian Serb nationalist in Sarajevo, an event used as a pretext by Austria for declaring war on Serbia. Most of the fighting took place on land in Europe and was generally characterized by long periods of bloody stalemate; the balance eventually shifted in the Allies' favor in 1917 when the US joined the war. Total casualties of the war are estimated at 10 million killed. One of the consequences of the war was the collapse of the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman empires.

World War II (1939 - 1945)
A war in which the Axis powers were defeated by an alliance eventually including the UK and its dominions, the former Soviet Union, and the US.

Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939 led Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Germany defeated and occupied France the following year and soon overran much of Europe. Italy joined the war in 1940, and the US and Japan entered after the Japanese attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. Italy surrendered in 1943, and the Allies launched a full-scale invasion in Normandy in June 1944. The war in Europe ended when Germany surrendered in May 1945; Japan surrendered after the US dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. An estimated 55 million people were killed during the war, including a much higher proportion of civilians than in World War I.

Vietnam War (1955 - 1975)
A war between the communist North Vietnam and US-backed South Vietnam.

After the partition of Vietnam in 1954, the communist North attempted to unite the country as a communist state, fueling the US concern over the possible spread of communism in Southeast Asia. US Army forces were sent to Vietnam in 1964, supported by contingents from South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, while US aircraft bombed North Vietnamese forces and areas of Cambodia. The Tet Offensive of 1968 damaged US confidence, and US forces began to be withdrawn, finally leaving in 1973. The North Vietnamese captured the southern capital Saigon to end the war in 1975.

Modern Warfare
Today, in this universe, the United States Armed Forces embraces the practical implications of advanced science in modern warfare.

Durability
Scientists once worked on creating artificial skin for burn victims, using a process called CRISPR to fuse the subject's DNA with another DNA to gain its attributes. The foreign DNA was abalone shell, already used to build better combat equipment for soldiers and to genetically enhance the durability, pliability, and healing properties of human epidermis.

Abalone is nearly impenetrable, but its stacked plates can be pushed apart under the right circumstances. During these experiments, soldiers' skin cells are bonded with hydrogen covalent bonds at the exact point of acidity, temperature, and saline concentration. This was going to lead to wounds healed instantaneously on the battlefield; concussions, major head trauma, healed within hours.

Medical
The Army medics are working on using Polyol and diisocyanates for the battlefield; when the two chemicals get inside a wound, they harden, sealing the wound.

Decorations

 * Medal of Honor
 * Navy Cross
 * Silver Star: For distinguished gallantry in action against an enemy.

United States Army
"'This we'll defend.'"The land warfare branch of the United States military.
 * General Jim Wrought


 * 75th Ranger Regiment

Special Forces
"'I will not fail those with whom I serve. I will not bring shame upon myself or the forces.'"Special Forces operators never say quit. Soldiers receive Air Force combat controller training.

United States Marine Corps
"'Semper fidelis.'"The United States military's amphibious combined arms branch.
 * Lieutenant John "Jarhead" Falcone

United States Navy
"'Non sibi sed patriae.'"The sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Navy SEALs are trained to hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
 * Naval Expeditionary Warfare Directorate

United States Air Force
"'Aim high... fly-fight-win.'"The aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces.

United States Coast Guard
"'Semper paratus.'"

TBA

Army

 * Fort Benning - Columbus, Georgia

Air Force

 * MacDill Air Force Base - Tampa, Florida

Attire

 * MICH: MICH (Modular Integrated Communications Helmet) TC-2000 Kevlar Advanced Combat Helmets.
 * Interceptor Body Armor: Interceptor body armor bullet-resistant vests.

Weaponry and Gadgets

 * Handguns
 * Colt 1911: A world-renowned pistol that was once commonly used in the U.S. military. It packs a lot of stopping power at close range.
 * Beretta M9: M9 Beretta double-action pistol, standard issue sidearm in the Army.
 * SIG Sauer P226 Mk 25: SAS 9mm handgun with short to medium range, low stopping power, and a large magazine. This pistol is worn on the hip.
 * Rifles
 * M1 Garand: A standard issue U.S. rifle. .30 caliber M1 is a clip-fed, shoulder-fired, semi-automatic weapon designed to bring death and destruction to the enemy.
 * Shotguns
 * Remington 870: A 12-gauge pump action shotgun with a large barrel that allows for enhanced range.
 * Benelli Super 90/M1014: An Italian medium-range semi-automatic shotgun used in the Marine Corps. It is a highly-durable, military-grade weapon with good range, lethal at close range.
 * Assault Rifles
 * M4A1: M4A1 full-auto assault rifle with low recoil, military-grade weapons. Effective at medium range. The M4A1 favors top handling and mobility, and its minimal recoil keeps you on target through sustained fire, making up for the weapon's low damage output with consistent, accurate shots.
 * FN SCAR 16: A military assault weapon with a grenade launcher.
 * Mk17 SCAR Long Barrel A modular, reliable combat rifle, the SCAR-L fires lighter 5.56mm cartridge, and the other SCAR is a SCAR-H that chambers the heavier 7.62 rounds, ample munition for both.
 * Machine Guns
 * M249: An iconic light machine gun, accurate in medium range with high ammunition capacity and efficient suppressive fire. This machine gun is gas-powered, air-cooled, and fires up to 800 rounds per minute. It is a lightweight, compact machine gun that combines excellent maneuverability with a high rate of fire to devastating effect.
 * Browning M2: A heavy machine gun, firing well-aimed shells from American-made M1117 Guardian armored security vehicles.
 * Submachine Guns
 * Heckler & Koch MP5: A submachine gun used in the Navy.
 * Heckler & Koch MP7A2: For close-in work, a close to mid-range submachine gun with high penetration. This SMG's smaller rounds help reduce its recoil.
 * Sniper Rifles
 * Winchester Model 70: Used in the Marine Corps.
 * Explosives
 * M67 Grenade: M67 hand grenade.
 * XM-25 Grenade Launcher: A grenade launcher much thicker than a conventional rifle and comes equipped with a pyramid-shaped scope. With this, soldiers laser-designate their targets, use the scope to set range, and then fire. Each 25-millimeter round packs two warheads that are more powerful than the conventional 40-millimeter grenade launchers. The round detonates midair, sending a cloud of fragmentation that would shred anyone.
 * Gadgets
 * Binoculars: Steiner T42 Tactical 10 x 42 binoculars, and Steiner 7 x 50rc M50rc binoculars.
 * Night Vision Goggles: L-3 GPNV-18 night vision goggles.
 * iPad
 * Motorola XTS5000R: A secure UHF radio.
 * Panasonic CF-29 Laptop

Transportation

 * Global Hawk
 * Humvee
 * M1117 Guardian ASV: An armored security vehicle with a maximum speed of sixty miles an hour.

Trivia

 * Most of the information on this page is sourced from Tom Clancy.