Understanding the U.S. Military (Annual English Edition)

Key Chapter Title List

1. The Military in the U.S. Constitution
2. Civil-Military Relations
3. The United States Army
4. The United States Navy
5. The United States Air Force
6. The United States Marine Corps
7. The United States Space Force
8. The National Guard and Reserves
9. Command Relationships
10. Joint Forces
11. Strategy
12. The U.S. Defense Budget

Document Introduction

This report, "Understanding the U.S. Military," is a comprehensive introductory textbook and authoritative analytical guide aimed at undergraduate students, policy researchers, and military enthusiasts. Its core objective is to bridge the cognitive gap between the American public, particularly the younger generation, and the highly specialized, complex U.S. military institution. The report points out that although the American public holds a high degree of trust in the military, the foundation of that trust based on substantive understanding is increasingly weak. This stems from the all-volunteer nature of the military service system, the geographical isolation of military bases from major cities, and the widespread lack of systematic military education courses in higher education.

The report adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating professional insights from fields such as history, political science, and strategic studies, and is co-authored by a team of experts with both deep academic backgrounds and long military careers. Its content structure is divided into three main parts, systematically analyzing this vast institution. The first part focuses on the macro context of the U.S. military, delving into the U.S. Constitution's design of checks and balances on military power—the historical tension and evolution between Congress's "power to declare war" and "power of the purse" and the President's authority as "Commander in Chief." It also systematically analyzes the classic paradigm of civil-military relations based on Samuel Huntington's theory and its post-Cold War challenges, laying a theoretical foundation for understanding the military's place within a democratic polity.

The second part details each branch of the U.S. military and its reserve components chapter by chapter. The report not only traces the unique historical origins, service cultures, and core missions of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and the newly established Space Force but also analyzes their operational doctrines, force structures, and current major challenges within a standardized framework. For example, the Army faces pressure to modernize and shift from prolonged counterinsurgency operations to preparing for great power competition (especially with China); the Navy confronts the dual challenge of maintaining global maritime control and power projection superiority while dealing with a shrinking fleet size and the rapid rise of the Chinese navy; the Air Force must balance maintaining its traditional core competency of air superiority with adapting to emerging domains of warfare such as space and cyberspace.

The third part turns to analyzing the key structural constraints and normative factors governing U.S. military operations. The content covers the complex command system, mechanisms for multi-service joint operations, the defense budget formulation process, the military justice system, military healthcare, personnel recruitment and retention, tactical principles, the military education and training system, and the professional ethics concept of the "military profession." These chapters reveal how the U.S. military operates within the multiple frameworks of law, budget, human resources, and operational theory, and emphasize the enduring importance of the fundamental American principle of "civilian control of the military."

The value of this report lies in its successful transformation of complex military organizational information into a clear, coherent body of knowledge. It provides both a solid factual foundation and introduces key policy debates and academic questions, encouraging readers to think critically. For anyone seeking an in-depth understanding of the U.S. defense system, national security decision-making processes, and the role of the U.S. military in global strategy, this book is an indispensable and authoritative reference.