link to page 2 link to page 1 
Updated November 21, 2022
Defense Primer: Department of the Army and
Army Command Structure
Overview
Senior Leadership
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution stipulates, “The
The DA is led by a civilian Secretary of the Army
Congress shall have power ... to raise and support Armies ...
(SECARMY) appointed by the President with the advice
make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land
and consent of the Senate. The SECARMY reports to the
and naval Forces ... for calling forth the Militia to execute
Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and serves as civilian
the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel
oversight for the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army
invasions.”
(CSA). The CSA is an administrative position held by a
four-star Army general and is a statutory office (10 U.S.C.
Relevant Statutes
§3033). The CSA is the chief military advisor and deputy to
the SECARMY and, by statute (10 U.S.C. §151), serves as
Title 10, U.S. Code, Subtitle B, Armed Forces: Army
a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The JCS is
Title 10, U.S. Code, Subtitle E, Reserve Components
composed of DOD’s senior uniformed leaders who advise
Title 32, U.S. Code, National Guard
the President, SECDEF, and Cabinet officials on military
issues.
The Department of the Army (DA) (Figure 1) is one of
Operational and Institutional Missions
four military departments reporting to the Department of
Defense (DOD). The Army’s primary mission is to fight
The operational Army—known as the Operational Force—
and win the nation’s ground wars. The Army’s mission is
conducts or directly supports military operations and
both operational and institutional and is composed of four
consists of numbered armies, corps, divisions, brigades and
distinct components: the regular Active Component (AC),
battalions. The majority of the Army is based in the
the reserve components of the United States Army Reserve
continental United States (CONUS) relying on forward-
(USAR), the Army National Guard (ARNG), and
stationed and rotational units outside the continental United
Department of the Army civilians (DAC). See Table 1.
States (OCONUS) to deter potential enemies, train allies,
and defend against aggression if needed.
The Regular Army is the full-time, federal force of AC
soldiers.
The institutional Army supports the operational Army by
providing the training, education, and logistics necessary
USAR is a federal reserve force that provides specialized
“to raise, train, equip, deploy, and ensure the readiness of
units and capabilities, as well as individual soldiers when
all Army forces.” Army organizations whose primary
mobilized.
mission is to generate and sustain the Operating Forces,
ARNG is a dual-status force that normally remains under
such as the Army Training and Doctrine Command
the command of state governors and can respond to
(TRADOC) and Army Materiel Command (AMC) for
domestic emergencies, unless its units are mobilized for a
example, are part of what is known as the Generating Force.
federal mission.
Army Command Structure
DAC are federal government workers who fill a variety of
There are three types of commands: Army Commands,
support roles.
Army Service Components Commands (ASCCs), and
Table 1. Army Components
Direct Reporting Units (DRUs).
Total
Location
Army Commands. Army commands perform many Title
Component
Number
(CONUS/OCONUS)
10 functions across multiple disciplines. The four Army
AC
460,772
410,385/50,387
Commands include Army Forces Command (FORSCOM),
USAR
178,090
172,352/5,738
Army Futures Command (AFC), AMC, and TRADOC.
ARNG
330,943
323,212/7,731
Army Service Components Commands (ASCCs).
DAC
246,152
234,017/12,135
ASCCs are operational organizations aligned with
combatant commands. The ASCC commander is
Source: Defense Military Manpower Center (DMDC), Military and
responsible for advising the combatant commander on the
Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country as of June 30,
allocation and employment of Army forces within a
2022.
combatant command. There are nine ASCCs, with five
Note: CONUS = Continental United States and OCONUS =
ASCCs aligned with geographic combatant commands and
Outside of the Continental United States (overseas).
the remaining four ASCCs aligned with functional
combatant commands, including U.S. Army Cyber
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Defense Primer: Department of the Army and Army Command Structure
Command, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution
U.S. Military Academy (USMA);
Command, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense
Command, and U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
U.S. Military District of Washington (MDW);
Direct Reporting Units (DRUs). DRUs have institutional
Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA);
or operational functions and provide broad, general support
to the Army. There are 13 DRUs:
U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC);
and
U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC);
U.S. Army War College (AWC).
Arlington National Cemetery (ANC);
CRS Products
Civilian Human Resources Agency (CHRA);
CRS In Focus IF10571, Defense Primer: Organization of U.S.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE);
Ground Forces, by Barbara Salazar Torreon and Andrew
Feickert.
U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (USACID);
CRS In Focus IF10540, Defense Primer: Reserve Forces, by
Lawrence Kapp.
U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC);
Other Resources
Department of the Army Budget Materials at
U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command
(INSCOM);
https://www.asafm.army.mil/Budget-Materials/.
U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM);
Figure 1. Department of the Army
Source: Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Institute of Land Warfare, Profile of the United States Army, September 2022, p. 10 at
https://www.ausa.org/profile.
Andrew Feickert, Specialist in Military Ground Forces
Barbara Salazar Torreon, Senior Research Librarian
IF10544
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Defense Primer: Department of the Army and Army Command Structure
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10544 · VERSION 10 · UPDATED