The Military Family Research Institute joins a proud and grateful nation in wishing happy birthday to the United States Army, which was founded on this day in 1775.
Army traditions of “duty, honor, country” date back to the minutemen. As the war between the colonies and Great Britain escalated, Congress formally established the Continental Army by nationalizing the colonial militias deployed around Boston and New York. George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief.
Today’s Army is the largest of all uniformed services, with about 535,000 soldiers on active duty and nearly 200,000 in the Reserves. More than 300,000 citizen-soldiers serve in the Army National Guard. The extended Army family includes 1.7 million spouses, children and other dependents currently serving alongside their loved ones, as well as 9.5 million Army veterans.
MFRI remains committed to meeting the needs of all military members, veterans and their loved ones through research programs like Family Journeys, a partnership with the Indiana National Guard. Guard families participating in the program complete surveys and personal interviews before, during and after deployment. Our goal is to build knowledge of the service experience so that programs, policies and resources are grounded upon evidence-based information.