military_branch 1st cavalry division 
The ___MASK31___ ( USA ) is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land - based military operations . It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution , Article 2 , Section 2 , Clause 1 and United States Code , Title 10 , Subtitle B , Chapter 301 , Section 3001 . As the largest and senior branch of the U . S . military , the modern U . S . Army has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed ( 14 June 1775 ) to fight the American Revolutionary War ( 1775  1783 ) before the U . S . was established as a country . After the Revolutionary War , the Congress of the Confederation created the ___MASK31___ on 3 June 1784 , to replace the disbanded Continental Army . The ___MASK31___ considers itself descended from the Continental Army , and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775 . The ___MASK92___ of the United States or Armies of the United States is the legal name of the " land forces of the United States " ( United States Constitution , Article 2 , Section 2 , Clause 1 and United States Code , Title 10 , Subtitle B , Chapter 301 , Section 3001 ) and has been used in this context since at least 1841 , as in the title : " General Regulations for the ___MASK92___ of the United States ". The ___MASK92___ , or Armies of the United States includes : the ___MASK30___ , ___MASK84___ , and the ___MASK92___ Reserve , ( as well as any volunteer or conscripted forces ). John Bell Hood ( June 1 or June 29 , 1831  August 30 , 1879 ) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War . Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness . Arguably one of the best brigade and division commanders in the Confederate States ___MASK92___ , Hood gradually became increasingly ineffective as he was promoted to lead larger , independent commands late in the war , and his career and reputation were marred by his decisive defeats leading an ___MASK92___ in the Atlanta Campaign and the Franklin - Nashville Campaign . Fort Hood is a U . S . military post located in Killeen , Texas . The post is named after Confederate General John Bell Hood . It is located halfway between Austin and Waco , about from each , within the U . S . state of Texas . Fort Hood is an installation of the ___MASK31___ and is the largest military base in the world ( by area ) with more than 215 , 000 acres . The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States . They consist of the ___MASK92___ , Marine Corps , Navy , Air Force , and Coast Guard . The President of the United States is the military ' s overall head , and helps form military policy with the U . S . Department of Defense ( DoD ), a federal executive department , acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out . From the time of its inception , the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States . A sense of national unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War . Even so , the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force . It played an important role in the American Civil War , where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military . Not until the outbreak of World War II did a large standing ___MASK92___ become officially established . The National Security Act of 1947 , adopted following World War II and during the Cold War ' s onset , created the modern U . S . military framework ; the Act merged previously Cabinet - level Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment ( renamed the Department of Defense in 1949 ), headed by the Secretary of Defense ; and created the Department of the Air Force and National Security Council . Hiroshima is perhaps best known as the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the ___MASK42___ ( USAAF ) dropped an atomic bomb on the city ( and later on Nagasaki ) at 8 : 15 a . m . on August 6 , 1945 , near the end of World War II . The 1st Cavalry Division ( `` First Team '' ) is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the ___MASK31___ , as well as the other four branches of the U . S . military . It is based at Fort Hood , Texas . It was formed in 1921 and served during World War II , Korea , Vietnam , the Persian Gulf War , with the Stabilization Force in Bosnia - Herzegovina , in the Iraq War , and in the War in Afghanistan ( 2001 -- present ) . As of 2013 , the 1st Cavalry Division is subordinate to III Corps and is commanded by Major General Michael Bills . Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale or its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations , or both . It is a systematically organized and executed attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers , long - or medium - range missiles , or nuclear - armed fighter - bomber ___MASK44___ to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy ' s war - making capability . The Continental ___MASK92___ was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America . Established by a resolution of the Congress on June 14 , 1775 , it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their revolt against the rule of Great Britain . The Continental ___MASK92___ was supplemented by local militias and troops that remained under control of the individual states or were otherwise independent . General George Washington was the commander - in - chief of the ___MASK92___ throughout the war . World War II ( often abbreviated to WWII or WW2 ), also known as the Second World War , was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 , although related conflicts began earlier . It involved the vast majority of the world ' s nations  including all of the great powers  eventually forming two opposing military alliances : the Allies and the Axis . It was the most widespread war in history , and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries . In a state of " total war ", the major participants threw their entire economic , industrial , and scientific capabilities behind the war effort , erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources . Marked by mass deaths of civilians , including the Holocaust ( in which approximately 11 million people were killed ) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres ( in which approximately one million were killed , and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ), it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities . These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history .