The United States armed forces were the military services of the United States of America on Earth. The commander in chief of the US armed forces was the President of the United States.
History
The United States armed forces grew from the military of the American Revolution, with the US military becoming active in several 20th century global conflicts on Earth. Of these, the US armed forces was a major participant in World War I, World War II, and the Brush Wars in Asia. The United States and the Soviet Union also engaged in a decades-long Cold War, where each side was poised to strike and destroy the other through the use of nuclear weapons.
- It has been implied, although never directly stated, that the U.S. military also participated in the Eugenics Wars as well as World War III.
Branches of the US armed forces
The United States armed forces was divided into four major branches, each in charge of a specific defense area. Specifically, the Air Force patrolled Earth's atmosphere, the Navy its oceans, and the Army was in charge of land defense. The Marine Corps was an amphibious assault force attached to the Navy, much like the MACOs to the Earth Starfleet.
The various branches of the US armed forces were:
Another branch of the armed forces was the United States Coast Guard, who were credited for assisting in the making of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. However, they were never mentioned on Star Trek.
US military personnel
Several famous Humans have served as United States armed forces personnel. Among these were such figures as George Washington, Douglas MacArthur, and Norman Schwarzkopf.
US military rank insignia
See: United States military insignia
The uniforms and ranks of the United States armed forces were represented in a variety of ways, most often as metal pin insignia or, in the case of the Navy, stripes on the uniform sleeve. The later pattern of Starfleet rank pips is based on the sleeve rank insignia of the United States Navy.
The United States armed forces also maintained a number of military awards to award heroism or meritorious accomplishment by its members.
Appendices
Background
- A majority of Star Trek personalities have served in the United States armed forces, the largest number being Original Series actors, producers, and writers, with service in the Second World War. Likewise, some of the more famous Star Trek military veterans, such as DeForest Kelley, Gene Roddenberry, and many others from this time period, have no military records due to a major fire in 1973 which destroyed 18 million military files at a federal records center in St. Louis. [1]
- While a large number of Star Trek personalities served in World War II and the Korean War, background actor Newell Tarrant is the only Star Trek actor known to have served in the Vietnam War.
- None of the actors who have portrayed Starfleet captains in the major series (Shatner, Stewart, Brooks, Mulgrew, or Bakula) have ever served in the military. William Shatner, however, did appear as an Army captain opposite Spencer Tracy (who served in the US Navy during World War I) in the film Judgment at Nuremberg shortly before Shatner's apperance in Star Trek.
- While never having served in the military, Michael Dorn has spent many years involved with the Civil Air Patrol and is a skilled and accomplished pilot.
- James Doohan and David Hurst are the only known Star Trek actors to have served in an armed force other than the United States military. Doohan served in the Canadian Army and Air Force and Hurst served in the British Army's Irish Fusiliers; both actors were veterans of the Second World War.
Star Trek personalities with military service
| Individual | Star Trek role | Branch of service | Years of service | Service number | Final rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Andes | Akuta | US Army Air Corps |
|||
| Hal Baylor | Unnnamed NYPD officer | US Marine Corps | |||
| Whit Bissell | Lurry | US Army | 39 708 296 | ||
| Elisha Cook | Samuel Cogley | US Army | 1942-1943 | 39 531 145 | |
| Gene L. Coon | Original Series Producer | US Marine Corps | 1942-1946 1950-1951 |
442994 | Sergeant |
| Harlan Ellison | Script Writer (TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever") |
US Army | 1957-1959 | 51 403 352 | Private First Class |
| Morgan Farley | Hacom / Yang Scholar | US Army | 1942-1945 | 530425 | Second Lieutenant |
| Paul Fix | Mark Piper | US Navy | 1918-1919 | 150 83 54 | Hospital Apprentice First Class |
| Fred Freiberger | Original Series Producer | US Army | 673530 | ||
| Frank Gorshin | Bele | US Army | 1953-1955 | 52 314 745 | |
| James Gregory | Tristan Adams | US Navy | 1942-1945 | 647 86 69 | Petty Officer 1st Class |
| Richard Herd | Owen Paris / L'Kor | US Army | 1953 | 51 214 821 | Private |
| John Hoyt | Phillip Boyce | US Army | |||
| Jeffrey Hunter | Christopher Pike | US Navy | 1945-1946 | 960 39 80 | Seaman 1st Class |
| Matt Jefferies | Original Series Art Director | US Army Air Corps |
|||
| Roy Jenson | Cloud William | US Navy | 1944-1946 | 566 72 38 | Seaman 1st Class |
| George Clayton Johnson | Script Writer (TOS: "The Man Trap") |
US Army | |||
| Robert Justman | Original Series Producer | US Navy | 1944-1946 | 881 57 18 | Petty Officer 3rd Class |
| Brian Keith | Mullibok | US Marine Corps | 1942-1945 | 385253 | Corporal |
| DeForest Kelley | Leonard McCoy | US Army Air Corps |
1943-1946 | 39 563 856 | Private First Class |
| Mark Lenard | Sarek Romulan commander Klingon captain |
US Army | 1943-1946 | 36 858 836 | Technical Sergeant |
| Hal Lynch | Air Police Sergeant | US Navy | |||
| Richard Matheson | Script Writer (TOS: "The Enemy Within") |
US Army | 12 229 310 | ||
| Lawrence Montaigne | Decius / Stonn | US Marine Corps | 1947-1950 | 1060247 | Private First Class |
| Byron Morrow | Komack | US Army | |||
| Joseph Naradzay | Marine sergeant | US Marine Corps | 1964-1990 | 2030237 | Sergeant Major |
| Leonard Nimoy | Spock | US Army Reserve | 1953-1955 | 11 229 770 | Sergeant |
| Nehemiah Persoff | Palor Toff | US Army | 1942-1946 | 32 698 169 | Technician 5th Grade |
| Gene Roddenberry | Series Creator | US Army Air Corps |
1942-1945 | 662606 | Captain |
| Steve Sandor | Lars | US Air Force | |||
| David Sharpe | Security Guard (TOS: "Day of the Dove") Stunt Double (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah") |
US Army Air Corps |
522005 | ||
| Ron Soble | Wyatt Earp | US Army | 1946-1948 1951-1953 |
16 231 533 02 103 964 |
First Lieutenant |
| Warren Stevens | Rojan | Naval Academy / Army Air Corps | 1937 - 1940 (Navy) | 139 89 54 | Midshipman |
| Newell Tarrant | Rogerson | US Navy | 1966-1986 | Commander | |
| Harry Townes | Reger | US Army | 1942-1946 | 32 792 652 | Corporal |
| William Windom | Matthew Decker | US Army | 1943-1946 | 33 455 116 | Technician 5th Grade |
| Ian Wolfe | Septimus / Atoz | US Army | 1917-1919 | 2371377 | Sergeant |
| Donald W. Zautcke | Marine Lieutenant | US Marine Corps | 1981-1985 | None | First Lieutenant |
| Anthony Zerbe | Matthew Dougherty | Air Force Reserve / Air National Guard | 1958-1964 | 28248934 | Airman 3rd Class |
Sources: United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Index Files, & National Archives and Records Administration (NPRC); St. Louis, Missouri.
External links
- United States Armed Forces at Wikipedia
- United States Strategic Command at Wikipedia (absorbed the United States Space Command in 2002)
- US Military rank structure at CombatCasting.com