Air and Space Defense
Recognizing that the two great oceans that had protected the United States from invasion for more than a century could now, at least in theory, be overcome through aerial assault ...
air support
Assistance given to ground or naval forces in an operation by their own or allied aircraft.
Air Warfare
Despite having given birth to the airplane in 1903, the United States was slow to explore the military applications of aviation and had effectively no air arm when war broke ...
antisubmarine warfare forces
The forces organized primarily to engage in antisubmarine action. Such a force may be composed of surface ships, aircraft, submarines, or some combination of these, along with their supporting ...
antitank weapon
Any weapon designed to destroy a tank. These may include guns of various sizes, guided missiles, rockets and their delivery systems, grenades, mines, and other obstacle systems.
Army, U.S.
The principal land force of the United States, entrusted with defending the country and preserving peace. The first regulary fighting force was the Continental Army, founded June 14, 1775, to ...
base
N.1 a locality from which operations are projected or supported.2 an area or locality containing installations that provide logistic or other support.3 a home airfield or home carrier.[...]
battleship
The modern equivalent of, and the name derived from, the older sailing ship of the line.From Ship of the Line to ‘Ironclad’.The introduction into warfare at sea during the 1840s and 1850s of the ...
bomber
N.1 an aircraft designed to carry and drop bombs.2 a person who plants, detonates, or throws bombs in a public place, especially as a terrorist.3 short for bomber jacket[...]
Careers in the Military
Since the early 1780s, careers in the American military have been varied and demanding. Over the last 200 years, the requirements of the military to be variously a constabulary, combatant ...
Central Intelligence Agency
CIA an independent U.S. agency responsible to the president through its Director and to the people of the United States through Congressional intelligence oversight committees. It was officially ...
chemical and biological warfare
(CBW)The use of synthetic poisonous substances, or organisms such as disease germs, to kill or injure the enemy. They include chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas (first used in World War I), various ...
civil Defense
The organization and training of civilians for the protection of lives and property during and after attacks in wartime.
Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts
The modern destroyer (DD) is a general purpose warship capable of surface, subsurface, and antiair warfare. Destroyers evolved from ships designed to destroy torpedo boats that threatened battleships ...
Detection, Observation, and Fire Control Systems
Hitting a distant moving target requires observing its range and bearing, estimating its speed and direction, extrapolating into the future to compute the lead, and then calculating ballistics (that ...
deterrence
N.the prevention from action by fear of the consequences. Deterrence is a state of mind brought about by the existence of a credible threat of unacceptable counteraction.
Easter Offensive
An assault on South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in the early months of 1972, the aim of which appeared to be winning the war outright. The offensive ...
Ethics of Bombing
Debate over the ethics of bombing focuses largely on strategic bombing: attacks carried out by strikes into the enemy nation for such purposes as impeding production, disrupting transportation and ...
Evolution of Weaponry
Weapons are instruments designed to harm, kill, or otherwise disable other human beings, to destroy other military resources, or to deter an enemy's ability to make war through the actual ...
Ground Attack Aircraft
World War I established the requirements for ground attack airplanes: armored aircraft, capable of high speed but also maneuverable and agile at low speeds and altitudes, equipped with multiple ...
