Military branch - Wikipedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Military branch" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state.

War Outline
Part of a series on

History Prehistoric Ancient Post-classical castles Early modern pike and shot napoleonic Late modern industrial fourth-gen
Military Organization Command and control Defense ministry Army Navy Air force Marines Coast guard Space force Reserves Regular / Irregular Ranks Specialties: Staff Engineers Intelligence Reconnaissance Medical Military police Land units: Infantry Armor Cavalry Artillery Special forces Signal corps Naval units: Warships Submarines Aircraft carriers Landing craft Auxiliary ships Air units: Fighters Bombers Command Close air support Electronic-warfare Reconnaissance Combat systems: Fire-control system Fire-control radar Director (military) Combat information center Sonar Radar Historical: Ship gun fire-control Gun data computer Torpedo data computer Development: Basic training Military manoeuvrers Combat training
Battlespace Aerospace Air Airborne Space Land Cold-region Desert Jungle Mountain Urban Subterranean Tunnel Sea Amphibious Blue Brown Green Surface Underwater Cyber Information
Weapons Air defence Armor Artillery Barrage Biological Camouflage Cavalry Horses Air cavalry Chemical Combined arms Conventional Cyber Denial Disinformation Drone / Robot Electromagnetic Infantry Loitering Missile Music Nuclear Psychological Radiological Unconventional
Tactics List of military tactics Aerial Airlift Air assault Airbridge Airdrop Battle Cavalry Charge Counterattack Counterinsurgency Defeat in detail Foxhole Drone Envelopment Guerrilla Morale Naval Rapid dominance Siege Swarm Screen Tactical objective Target saturation Trench Withdrawal
Operational Military operation Operations research Blitzkrieg Expeditionary Deep operation Maneuver Operational manoeuvre group Raid
Strategy List of military strategies and concepts Military campaign Attrition Commerce raiding Counter-offensive Culminating Defence in depth Fabian Empty fort Mosaic Deception Defensive Depth Goal Nuclear Naval Offensive Scorched earth
Grand strategy Asymmetric Blockade Broken-backed Class Cold war Colonial Conquest Containment Divide and conquer Economic Endemic Fleet in being Irregular Liberation Limited Network-centric New generation Perpetual Political Princely Proxy Religious Resource Strategic Succession Technology Theater Total war World war
Administrative Branch Policy Staff Training Service Sociology
Organization Area of responsibility Chain of command Command and control Doctrine Principles of war Economy of force Medicine Engineers Intelligence Ranks Technology and equipment
Personnel Recruitment counter Conscription Training Specialism Women Children Transgender harassment Conscientious objector Volunteer foreign Mercenary
Logistics History Military–industrial complex Arms industry Materiel Supply-chain management Base MOB FOB Outpost
Science Power projection Loss-of-strength gradient Lanchester's laws Force multiplication
Law Court-martial Geneva Conventions Geneva Protocol Islamic rules Justice Perfidy Jewish laws on war Right of conquest Rules of engagement Martial law War crime
Theory Air supremacy Appeasement Command of the sea Deterrence theory Full-spectrum dominance Overmatch Unrestricted Warfare Just war theory Principles of war Philosophy of war Security dilemma Tripwire force War games
Non-warfare Arms control Counter-insurgency deterrence Disaster response Grey-zone Gunboat diplomacy Humanitarian aid Law enforcement Low-intensity conflict Military engineering Multilateralism Peacekeeping Peacebuilding Peace through strength Show of force
Culture Awards and decorations Warrior caste War film Military science fiction War novel Anti-war movement Foot drill War song Uniform Wargame
Related Women in war War resister War studies Horses in warfare Wartime sexual violence Fifth column
Lists Battles Military occupations Military terms Operations Sieges War crimes Wars Weapons Writers
v t e

Types of branches[edit]

Type	Role	Example (if atypical)
Air and space force	Air and space warfare	French Air and Space Force
Airborne forces	Paratrooper operations	Russian Airborne Forces
Air defence force	Air and missile defense	Egyptian Air Defense Forces
Air force	Aerial warfare
Army	Ground warfare
Border guard	Border security	Vietnam Border Guard
Coast guard	Maritime security	United States Coast Guard
Command and control	Reconnaissance, Communication, Surveillance, Information warfare	People's Liberation Army Information Support Force
Cyber force	Cyberwarfare	Digital and Intelligence Service (Singapore)
Emergencies service	Disaster relief and emergency management	Military Emergencies Unit (Spain)
Engineering service	Military engineering	Construction and Engineering Forces (Mongolia)
Gendarmerie	Military and/or public policing	National Gendarmerie (France)
General Staff	Command and coordination of the military branches and guiding of the military operations	Strategic Command Operations (Venezuela)
Logistics service	Military logistics	Joint Support Service (Germany)
Marines	Naval land force	United States Marine Corps
Medical service	Medical service	Belgian Medical Component
Military police	Military law enforcement agency	Republic of China Military Police
Military reserve force	National reserve and auxiliary service	Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces
Navy	Naval warfare
Strategic rocket force	Operation of strategic missiles	People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (China)
Space force	Space warfare	United States Space Force
Special forces	Special operations	Polish Special Forces
Unmanned systems forces	Managing and utilizing unmanned and robotic systems in military operations	Unmanned Systems Forces (Ukraine)

Unified armed forces[edit]

The Canadian Armed Forces is the unified armed forces of Canada. While it has three environmental commands - namely the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force - it remains a single military service.^{[citation needed]}

NATO definition[edit]

Branch of service (also branch of military service or branch of armed service) refers, according to NATO standards, to a branch, employment of combined forces or parts of a service, below the level of service, military service, or armed service.^[1]

References[edit]

^ MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSSAR ENGLISCH Teil I, A – K, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001), page 226, definition: branch of service.

v t e Military branches
Airborne forces Air force Army Air defence Border guard Coast guard Gendarmerie Marines Missile defence Military police Militia Navy Security forces Space force Special forces

Military and war

Types of branches[edit]

Unified armed forces[edit]

NATO definition[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]