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Updated January 16, 2024
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
449,041
402,181/46,860
Commands include Army Forces Command (FORSCOM),
USAR
176,680
169,401/7,279
Army Futures Command (AFC), AMC, and TRADOC.
ARNG
325,066
315,587/9,479
Army Service Components Commands (ASCCs).
DAC
228,039
217,316/10,723
ASCCs are operational organizations aligned with
combatant commands. The ASCC commander is
Source: DMDC as of September 30, 2023.
responsible for advising the combatant commander on the
Note: CONUS = Continental United States and OCONUS =
allocation and employment of Army forces within a
Outside of the Continental United States (overseas).
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
https://crsreports.congress.gov