Throughout its 239 years, the United States has maintained its Army as the world’s most formidable fighting force. Under General George Washington, U.S. Soldiers fought for the independence and rights of a fledgling nation. The Continental Army—primarily made up of ordinary citizens with little or no warfighting experience—comprised Soldiers who held a zealous desire for independence. Their motivation for freedom ultimately led them to defeat the well-established and well-trained British army.This motivation and love for country are instilled in today’s U.S. Soldiers as they continue to fight for and defend freedom from oppression for all. The U.S. Army has evolved into an agile, dynamic force that is ready to respond quickly and decisively to eliminate threats, prevail on the battlefield and continue to protect the freedom it won more than two centuries ago.The Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA’s) Institute of Land Warfare (ILW) publishes Profile of the U.S. Army—a reference handbook as a guide to the Army. ILW has created Profile as a user-friendly reference book for people familiar with the Army and an easy-to-read introduction for family members, civilian employees, contractors and future Soldiers. Profile describes the structure and priorities of today’s Army.This latest edition of Profile discusses the Army’s role in preserving the country’s security and national interests; it also describes the history behind the Army’s current organization. Profile contains pertinent information and helpful graphics on the Soldier, the uniform, the Army’s current operations, Army families and the Army’s command structure and installations. For readers seeking more details, each chapter includes a list of relevant websites. Finally, Profile contains a glossary of military acronyms and maps illustrating locations of current Army combat corps and divisions, current Army National Guard divisions and brigade combat teams and Army Reserve operational and functional commands.Profile is available on the AUSA website (http://www.ausa.org/ilw). A comprehensive weapons directory containing detailed information about Army weapon systems, published by AUSA’s ARMY magazine, is also available (http://www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/archive/2013/10). The directory describes all of the Army’s weapon systems, including aircraft, artillery, tanks, individual equipment and state-of-the-art technologies used by Soldiers in the warfight.The Association of the United States Army fully supports the Army—active Army, Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Army civilians, Army retirees and the families and communities who stand behind them—as it faces its many challenges. Profile of the U.S. Army, an integral part of this support, serves as a guide to the history and organization of the U.S. Army. AUSA welcomes comments and suggestions on how to make future editions as useful and informative as possible. In publishing this book, AUSA and the Institute of Land Warfare seek to provide a greater understanding and appreciation of the men, women, families, institutions and organizations who strive to maintain the world’s greatest army