US Army Birthday

Ten companies of expert riflemen were authorized by a resolution of the Continental Congress on 14 June 1775. However, the oldest Regular Army infantry regiment, the 3d Infantry Regiment, was constituted on 3 June 1784, as the First American Regiment.

The post of Adjutant General was established 16 June 1775, and has been continuously in operation since that time. The Adjutant General’s Department, was established by the act of 3 March 1813. It became The Adjutant General’s Corps per The Army Organization Act of 1950.

Continental Congress authority for a “Chief Engineer for the Army” dates from 16 June 1775. A Corps of Engineers for the United States was authorized by the Congress on 11 March 1779. The Corps of Engineers as it is known today came into being on 16 March 1802, when the President was authorized to “organize and establish a Corps of Engineers … that the said Corps … shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York and shall constitute a Military Academy.” A Corps of Topographical Engineers, authorized on 4 July 1838, was merged with the Corps of Engineers in March 1863.

The Finance Corps is the successor to the old Pay Department, which was created on 16 June 1775. The Finance Department was created by law on 1 July 1920. It became the Finance Corps with the passage of The Army Organization Act of 1950.

The Quartermaster Corps, originally designated the Quartermaster Department, was established on 16 June 1775. While numerous additions, deletions, and changes of function have occurred, its basic supply and service support functions have continued in existence.

The Continental Congress unanimously elected Henry Knox “Colonel of the Regiment of Artillery” on 17 November 1775. The regiment formally entered service on 1 January 1776. Both Air Defense Artillery (previously Coast Artillery) and Field Artillery share this common heritage. At various times, all arms of artillery have been referred to as Artillery. This is still reflected in Title 10, United States Code, Section 3063(a)(3). On 14 June 1968 the Army established Air Defense Artillery as a separate branch and on 12 June 1969 directed that the Title 10 reference to “Artillery” will instead refer to “Field Artillery” pending formal change to the code. To date, this has not yet occurred. However, the Army made clear in 1969 that “for the purposes of lineage and history, Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery shall both be considered a continuation of Artillery.”

The Continental Congress unanimously elected Henry Knox “Colonel of the Regiment of Artillery” on 17 November 1775. The regiment formally entered service on 1 January 1776. Both Air Defense Artillery (previously Coast Artillery) and Field Artillery share this common heritage. At various times, all arms of artillery have been referred to as Artillery. This is still reflected in Title 10, United States Code, Section 3063(a)(3). On 14 June 1968 the Army established Air Defense Artillery as a separate branch and on 12 June 1969 directed that the Title 10 reference to “Artillery” will instead refer to “Field Artillery” pending formal change to the code. To date, this has not yet occurred. However, the Army made clear in 1969 that “for the purposes of lineage and history, Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery shall both be considered a continuation of Artillery.”

The Armor branch traces its origin to the Cavalry. A regiment of cavalry was authorized to be raised by the Continental Congress Resolve of 12 December 1776. Although mounted units were raised at various times after the Revolution, the oldest Regular Army cavalry units date to 1833. The Tank Service was formed on 5 March 1918. The Armored Force was formed on 10 July 1940. Armor became a permanent branch with the passage of The Army Organization Act of 1950.

The Ordnance Department was established by act of Congress on 14 May 1812. During the Revolutionary War, ordnance material was under supervision of the Board of War and Ordnance. Numerous shifts in duties and responsibilities have occurred in the Ordnance Corps since colonial times. It acquired its present with the passage of The Army Organization Act of 1950.

The Signal Corps became a branch of the Army by act of Congress on 3 March 1863. However, the Signal Corps dates its existence from 21 June 1860, when Congress authorized the appointment of one signal officer in the Army, and a War Department order carried the following assignment: “Signal Department–Assistant Surgeon Albert J. Myer to be Signal Officer, with the rank of Major, June 27, 1860, to fill an original vacancy.”

The Chemical Warfare Service was established on 28 June 1918, combining activities that until then had been dispersed among five separate agencies of Government. It was made a permanent branch of the Regular Army by the National Defense Act of 1920. In 1945, it was redesignated the Chemical Corps.

A Provost Marshal General’s Office and Corps of Military Police were established in 1941. Prior to that time, except during the Civil War and World War I, there was no regularly appointed Provost Marshal General or regularly constituted Military Police Corps, although a “Provost Marshal” can be found as early as January 1776, and a “Provost Corps” in 1778.

The historical background of the Transportation Corps starts with World War I. Prior to that time, transportation operations were chiefly the responsibility of the Quartermaster General. The Transportation Corps, essentially in its present form, was organized on 31 July 1942.

The first Civil Affairs units in the Army were formed during World War II. Additional units saw service in subsequent conflicts. Civil Affairs/Military Government was established as an Army Reserve Branch on 17 August 1955. Subsequently redesignated as the Civil Affairs Branch on 2 October 1959, its members continued its mission to provide guidance to commanders on a broad spectrum of civil affairs activities. The expansion of Civil Affairs in the Regular Army led to Civil Affairs beings established as a basic branch of the Army effective 16 October 2006 by Department of the Army General Orders (AGO) No. 29, 12 January 2007.

Intelligence has been an essential element of Army operations during war as well as during periods of peace. In the past, requirements were met by personnel from the Army Intelligence and Army Security Reserve branches, two-year obligated tour officers, one-tour levies on the various branches, and Regular Army officers in the specialization programs. To meet the Army’s increased requirement for national and tactical intelligence, an Intelligence and Security Branch was established in the Army effective 1 July 1962, by General Orders No. 38, dated 3 July 1962. On 1 July 1967, the branch was redesignated as Military Intelligence.

Following the establishment of the U.S. Air Force as a separate service in 1947, the Army began to develop further its own aviation assets (light planes and rotary wing aircraft) in support of ground operations. The Korean War gave this drive impetus, and the war in Vietnam saw its fruition, as Army aviation units performed a variety of missions, including reconnaissance, transport, and fire support. After the war in Vietnam, the role of armed helicopters as tank destroyers received new emphasis. In recognition of the growing importance of aviation in Army doctrine and operations, Aviation became a separate branch on 12 April 1983, and a full member of the Army’s combined arms team.

The first Special Forces unit in the Army was formed on 11 June 1952, when the 10th Special Forces Group was activated at Fort Bragg, NC. A major expansion occurred in the 1960s, with additional groups organized in the Regular Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard. As a result of renewed emphasis on special operations in the 1980s, the Special Forces branch was established as a basic branch of the Army effective 9 April 1987, by AGO No. 35, 19 June 1987.

The first Psychological Operations units in the Army were formed during World War II. Additional units saw service in subsequent conflicts. Psychological Operations was established as a basic branch of the Army effective October 16, 2006 by AGO No. 30, January 12, 2007.

Logistics was established as a basic branch of the Army effective 1 January 2008 by General Orders No. 6, 27 November 2007.

Cyber was established as a basic branch of the Army effective 1 September 2014 by General Orders No. 63, 21 August 2014.

The Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consists of the Surgeon General, Assistant Surgeons General, and six separate corps (Medical, Army Nurse, Dental, Veterinary, Medical Service, and Army Medical Specialist). The Army Medical Department and the Medical Corps trace their origins to 27 July 1775, when the Continental Congress established the Army hospital headed by a “Director General and Chief Physician.” Congress provided a medical organization of the Army only in time of war or emergency until 1818, which marked the inception of a permanent and continuous Medical Department. The Army Organization Act of 1950 renamed the Medical Department as the Army Medical Service. On 4 June 1968, the Army Medical Service was redesignated the Army Medical Department.

The anniversaries the corps which comprise the Army Medical Department are as follows (per AGO 19, dated 31 October 1978):

• Army Nurse Corps: 2 February 1901
• Dental Corps: 3 March 1911
• Veterinary Corps: 3 June 1916
• Medical Service Corps: 18 May 1917
• Army Medical Specialist Corps: 16 April 1947

The legal origin of the Chaplains is found in a resolution of the Continental Congress, adopted 29 July 1775, which made provision for the pay of chaplains. The Office of the Chief of Chaplains was created by the National Defense Act of 1920.

The Office of Judge Advocate of the Army may be deemed to have been created on 29 July 1775, and has generally paralleled the origin and development of the American system of military justice. The Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Department, by that name, was established in 1884. Its present designation as a corps was enacted in 1948.