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Updated January 16, 2024


Defense Primer: Department of the Army and

Army Command Structure


Overview
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution stipulates, The
Congress shall have power ... to raise and support Armies ...
make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land
and naval Forces ... for calling forth the Militia to execute
the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel
invasions.


The Department of the Army (DA) (Figure 1) is one of
four military departments reporting to the Department of
Defense (DOD). The Army's primary mission is to fight
and win the nation's ground wars. The Army's mission is
both operational and institutional and is composed of four
distinct components: the regular Active Component (AC),
the reserve components of the United States Army Reserve
(USAR), the Army National Guard (ARNG), and
Department of the Army civilians (DAC). See Table 1.

  The Regular Army is the full-time, federal force of AC
   soldiers.

  USAR  is a federal reserve force that provides specialized
   units and capabilities, as well as individual soldiers when
   mobilized.

  ARNG  is a dual-status force that normally remains under
   the command of state governors and can respond to
   domestic emergencies, unless its units are mobilized for a
   federal mission.
  DAC  are federal government workers who fill a variety of
   support roles.

Table 1. Army Components
                   Total            Location
  Component       Number      (CONUS/OCONUS)
      AC          449,041         402,181/46,860
      USAR         I 76,680        169,401/7,279
      ARNG        325,066         315,587/9,479
      DAC         228,039         217,316/10,723
Source: DMDC as of September 30, 2023.

Note: CONUS = Continental United States and OCONUS =
Outside of the Continental United States (overseas).


Senior Leadersip
The DA  is led by a civilian Secretary of the Army
(SECARMY)   appointed by the President with the advice
and consent of the Senate. The SECARMY reports to the
Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and serves as civilian
oversight for the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army
(CSA). The CSA is an administrative position held by a
four-star Army general and is a statutory office (10 U.S.C.
§3033). The CSA is the chief military advisor and deputy to
the SECARMY   and, by statute (10 U.S.C. §151), serves as
a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The JCS is
composed of DOD's senior uniformed leaders who advise
the President, SECDEF, and Cabinet officials on military
issues.

Operatiwnal  and lnsthtutional Missions
The operational Army-known  as the Operational Force-
conducts or directly supports military operations and
consists of numbered armies, corps, divisions, brigades and
battalions. The majority of the Army is based in the
continental United States (CONUS) relying on forward-
stationed and rotational units outside the continental United
States (OCONUS) to deter potential enemies, train allies,
and defend against aggression if needed.

The institutional Army supports the operational Army by
providing the training, education, and logistics necessary
to raise, train, equip, deploy, and ensure the readiness of
all Army forces. Army organizations whose primary
mission is to generate and sustain the Operating Forces,
such as the Army Training and Doctrine Command
(TRADOC)   and Army Materiel Command (AMC)  for
example, are part of what is known as the Generating Force.

Army   Command Structure
There are three types of commands: Army Commands,
Army  Service Components Commands (ASCCs), and
Direct Reporting Units (DRUs).

Army  Commands.  Army  commands  perform many Title
10 functions across multiple disciplines. The four Army
Commands  include Army Forces Command (FORSCOM),
Army  Futures Command (AFC), AMC,  and TRADOC.

Army  Service Components Commands   (ASCCs).
ASCCs  are operational organizations aligned with
combatant commands. The ASCC  commander is
responsible for advising the combatant commander on the
allocation and employment of Army forces within a
combatant command. There are nine ASCCs, with five
ASCCs  aligned with geographic combatant commands and
the remaining four ASCCs aligned with functional
combatant commands, including U.S. Army Cyber

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