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What are the Reserves?

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The Army Reserves is the Reserve force of the United States Army. Similar to the National Guard, the Reserves drill one weekend a month and two months out of the year. However, there exist several differences between the Reserves and the National Guard. The largest difference the Reserves hold is that they are a completely Federal force, with no state dictating the deployment and use of Reserve troops. Another major difference is that the Reserves hold no combat arms positions, compared to the National Guard which does. The Reserves is made up of only support and Combat Support Army positions.

What is the National Guard?

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The National Guard is the official militia force of the United States. The National Guard is established and owned by all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia. The National Guard is a part time force, with the majority of service members drilling only one weekend a month and two weeks out of the year while they simultaneously hold civilian jobs. The National Guard is both a federal and a state fighting force, the the federal government holding the ability to activate service members to federal status when needed. Due to their state function, National Guard troops are able to deploy within their own state or territory. Many states use this function to deploy Guardsmen for disaster relief, border security, or to declare martial law in a dire situation. Some in the National Guard trace their existence back to 1636, with the Spanish establishment of a colonial militia force in the modern state of Florida. However, the National Guard as it is today was officially esta

What is the Army?

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The United States Army is the unified land warfare force of the United States military. By order of precedence, the Army is the most senior branch of the military. Considering themselves descended from the Continental Army, the Army was established on 14 June 1775 by order of the Continental Congress. After the war, the Army was officially reformed as an extension of the new United States Government under the Articles of Confederation in 1784.  The Army is the single largest military branch, with fiscal year 2017 census showing the Active component numbering 476,000, the Reserves at 199,000, and the Army National Guard at 343,000. The Department of the Army says that the mission of the Army is to  "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained, land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of  combatant commanders ". The Army conducts missions word wide, from South America to Africa to Europ