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The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States. The United States military was first formed during the Continental Congress and was permanently established after World War II. Its component branches are:

• United States Army
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Navy
• United States Air Force
• United States Coast Guard

All branches are part of the United States Uniformed Services and are under civilian control with the President serving as Commander-in-chief. All branches except the Coast Guard are part of the Department of Defense, which is under the authority of the Secretary of Defense, who is also a civilian. The Coast Guard falls under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. During wartime, the Coast Guard may be placed under the Department of Defense through the Department of the Navy. There are also other military forces in the United States which fall solely under the individual control of each state, the State Defense Forces, which are not part of the Department of Defense. The United States Marine Corps is the only offical branch that is part of another military branch, as it was created as and still is a part of the Department of the Navy.

Unified Combatant Commands

A Unified Combatant Command (UCC) is a United States joint military command composed of forces from two or more services, has a broad and continuing mission, and is organized either on a geographical basis (known as "Area Of Responsibility", AOR) or on a functional basis. All UCCs are commanded by either a four star general or admiral and are considered "joint" commands with specific badges denoting their affiliation. UCCs (formerly known as "COCOMs", a term now reserved excusively for the authority they hold, which is also called "combatant command") are led by Combatant Commanders (CCDRs), formerly known as a regional "Commander-in Chief" (CINC; pronounced "Sink").

Regional Commands

• United States Africa Command - USAFRICOM (HQ: Kelley Barracks, in Stuttgart, Germany)
• United States Central Command - USCENTCOM (HQ: MacDill AFB, in Tampa, FL)
• United States European Command - USEUCOM (HQ: Patch Barracks, in Stuttgart, Germany)
• United States Pacific Command - USPACOM (HQ: Camp H. M. Smith, in Honolulu, Hawaii)
• United States Northern Command - USNORTHCOM (HQ: Peterson AFB, in Colorado Springs, CO)
• United States Southern Command - USSOUTHCOM (HQ: Doral (Miami), FL)

Areas of Responsibility for Regional Commands

Functional Commands

• United States Joint Forces Command - USJFCOM (HQ: Norfolk, Virginia)
• United States Special Operations Command - USSOCOM (HQ: MacDill AFB, in Tampa, FL)
• United States Strategic Command - USSTRATCOM (HQ: Offutt AFB, in Omaha, NE)
• United States Transportation Command - USTRANSCOM (HQ: Scott AFB, in St. Clair County, IL)