Why Serve Your Country?


"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
- John F. Kennedy, Former President of the United States

"Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don't have that problem."
- Ronald Reagan, Former President of the United States

"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"A government is invigorated when each of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this nation."
- Barbara Jordan, Fmr. US Congresswoman

Serve America

Senator Lieberman - Media, Children, ValuesSenator Lieberman is a firm believer in the importance of giving back to your nation. As a college student, Senator Lieberman travelled to Mississippi in the heart of the civil rights battle to stand up for the values that he believed in and that he knew were at the core of America.

As a public servant, Senator Lieberman has been a strong supporter of providing opportunities for Americans to give back to their nation. He has consistently supported additional funding for all branches of the United States Military, as well as the Peace Corps and Americorps.

Senator Lieberman is committed to providing information to all of Connecticut's citizens on how they can give back to their nation in whichever way is best for them. Please explore the information and sites below on some of the various service options that the United States Government has to offer.

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United States Military | Peace Corps | AmeriCorps

United States Military

United States Army. The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. The Army, as one of the three military departments (Army, Navy and Air Force) reporting to the Department of Defense, is composed of two distinct and equally important components: the active component and the reserve components. The reserve components are the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard.

Regardless of component, The Army conducts both operational and institutional missions. The operational Army consists of numbered armies, corps, divisions, brigades, and battalions that conduct full spectrum operations around the world. The institutional Army supports the operational Army. Institutional organizations provide the infrastructure necessary to raise, train, equip, deploy, and ensure the readiness of all Army forces. The training base provides military skills and professional education to every Soldier - as well as members of sister services and allied forces. It also allows The Army to expand rapidly in time of war. The industrial base provides world-class equipment and logistics for The Army. Army installations provide the power-projection platforms required to deploy land forces promptly to support combatant commanders. Once those forces are deployed, the institutional Army provides the logistics needed to support them.

Control and operation of the Army is administered by the Department of the Army, one of the three service departments of the Department of Defense. The civilian head is the Secretary of the Army, currently Pete Geren, and the highest ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff, currently General George W. Casey, Jr.

To learn more about enlisting in the United States Army, click here.

United States Marines. The United States Marine Corps, with 180,000 active duty and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2005, is the smallest of the United States' armed forces in the Department of Defense (the Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security).

Originally organized as the Continental Marines on November 10, 1775 as naval infantry, the Marine Corps has evolved in its mission with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy. The Marine Corps has served in every American armed conflict including the Revolutionary War. It attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practice of amphibious warfare proved prescient and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of World War II. By the mid 20th century, the Marine Corps had become the dominant theorist of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond to regional crises has made it, and continues to make it, an important body in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy.

The most senior Marine officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, currently General James T. Conway. He is responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for operation under the command of the Unified Combatant Commanders. The Marine Corps is organized into four principal subdivisions: Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), the Operating Forces, the Supporting Establishment, and the Marine Forces Reserve. The Marine Corps is a partner service with the U.S. Navy under the Department of the Navy. Both the Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps, heads of their respective services, report directly to the Secretary of the Navy.

To learn more about enlisting in the United States Marines, click here.

United Stated Navy. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train, and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom of the seas.

The United States Constitution, though, provided the legal basis for a seaborne military force by giving Congress the power "to provide and maintain a navy." Depredations against American shipping by pirates spurred Congress to employ this power by passing the Naval Act of 1794 ordering the construction and manning of six Naval Warships.

The 21st century United States Navy maintains a sizable presence in the world, deploying in such areas as East Asia, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. Its ability to project force onto the costal regions of the world, engage in forward areas during peacetime, and rapidly respond to regional crises makes it an active player in American foreign and defense policy. The United States Navy is the largest in the world with a tonnage greater than that of the next 17 largest combined and has a budget of $127.3 billion for the 2007 fiscal year.

The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, which is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Navy, currently Donald C. Winter. The Department of the Navy is a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The highest ranking Navy officer is the Chief of Naval Operations, currently Admiral Gary Roughead.

To learn more about enlisting in the United States Navy, click here.

United States Air Force. The mission of the United States Air Force is to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests to fly and fight in air, space, and cyberspace. To achieve that mission, the Air Force has a vision of Global Vigilance, Reach and Power. That vision orbits around three core competencies: Developing Airmen, Technology-to-Warfighting, and Integrating Operations.

In 2007, the Air Force is celebrating its 60th anniversary and commemorating six decades of US air and space power.

On August 1, 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps formed an Aeronautical Division. This action came only 3 1/2 years after the Wright Brothers flew the world's first powered airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. At first, however, the Aeronautical Division was mainly interested in balloons and dirigibles instead of heavier-than-air flying machines.

On July 18, 1914, as a result of congressional legislation, the Army established the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps to improve its fledgling flying capabilities. On May 24, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson created the Army Air Service and placed it directly under the War Department. By November 1918, the Air Service had grown to more than 19,000 officers and 178,000 enlisted men, while American industry had turned out 11,754 aircraft.

In June 20, 1941, the Department of War created the Army Air Forces (AAF) as its aviation element and shortly thereafter made it co-equal to the Army Ground Forces. The Air Corps remained as one of the Army's combat arms, like the Infantry. Based on the AAF's wartime achievements and future potential, the U.S. Air Force won its independence as a full partner with the Army and the Navy on September 18, 1947. Stuart Symington became the first Secretary of the Air Force, and Gen Carl A. Spaatz its first Chief of Staff.

Today, the pace of technological change moves ever faster, while America's role in protecting against aggression and fostering world democracy is more complex. In recognition of anticipated challenges the Air Force will face in the 21st Century, Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall and Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman inaugurated the year of the Air Force's 50th anniversary with a long range planning effort reminiscent of Toward New Horizons, the compendium of scientific forecasts instigated by Hap Arnold at the end of World War II. Under the umbrella concept of Global Engagement, today's Air Force has set forth a vision of how its people, technology, and infrastructure must adapt to assure it will become more effective and influential than ever.

To learn more about enlisting in the United States Air Force, click here.

United States Coast Guard. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States involved in maritime law, mariner assistance, and search and rescue, among other duties of coast guards elsewhere. One of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and the smallest armed service of the United States, its stated mission is to protect the public, the environment, and the United States economic and security interests in any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and America's coasts, ports, and inland waterways.

USCG has a broad and important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine environmental pollution response, and the maintenance of river, intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON). It also lays claim to being the United States' oldest continuous seagoing service. The United States Coast Guard has about 40,150 men and women on active duty.

The Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus, meaning "Always Ready".

The Coast Guard's roots lie in the Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on August 4, 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. An act of the U.S. Congress created the Coast Guard in 1915, with the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Lifesaving Service. The United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard in 1939. The legal basis for the Coast Guard is Title 14 of the United States Code, which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy. The Coast Guard later moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on February 25, 2003 it became part of the Department of Homeland Security.

As members of a military service, Coast Guardsmen on active and reserve service are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive the same pay and allowances as members of the same pay grades in the other four armed services.

To learn more about enlisting in the United States Coast Guard, click here.

United States Merchant Marines. The purpose of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is to ensure that experienced sailors are available to the nation as shipboard officers and as leaders in the transportation field who will meet the challenges of the present and the future. The Merchant Marines consists of vessels owned by U.S. companies and registered and operated under the American flag. This fleet of highly productive ships is a major part of our system of commerce, helping guarantee our access to foreign markets for sale of our manufactured goods.

Moreover, in time of war or national emergency, the U.S. merchant marine becomes vital to national security as a "fourth arm of defense." Our merchant ships bear the brunt of delivering military supplies overseas to our forces and allies. The stark lessons of twentieth century conflict prove that a strong merchant marine is an essential part of American seapower.

The nation's economic and security needs met by the U.S. merchant marine are compelling. Today, the United States imports approximately 85 percent of some 77 strategic commodities critical to America's industry and defense. Although we, as a nation, account for only six percent of the world population, we purchase nearly a third of the world's output of raw materials. Ninety-nine percent of these materials are transported by merchant vessels.

To learn more about joining the United States Merchant Marines, click here.

Peace Corps

Become an Ambassador to the World. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals: Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served and; Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

To learn more about joining the Peace Corps, click here.

AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps is a network of local, state, and national service programs that connects more than 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet our country's critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment.

AmeriCorps members serve with more than 2,000 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based and community organizations. Since 1994, more than 400,000 men and women have provided needed assistance to millions of Americans across the nation through their AmeriCorps service.

To learn more about joining AmeriCorps, click here.

Teach for America. Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates and young professionals of all academic majors, career interests, and professional backgrounds who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity.

To learn more about applying for Teach for America, click here.

SeniorCorps. Senior Corps connects today's over 55s with the people and organizations that need them most. They help them become mentors, coaches or companions to people in need, or contribute their job skills and expertise to community projects and organizations. Conceived during John F. Kennedy's presidency, Senior Corps currently links more than 500,000 Americans to service opportunities. Their contributions of skills, knowledge, and experience make a real difference to individuals, nonprofits, and faith-based and other community organizations throughout the United States.

To learn more about joining the SeniorCorps, click here.


America's Heroes