Armed Forces Day: 13 Facts

Armed Forces Day: 13 Facts
In August, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of a single-day celebration to honor all the members of the military, no matter the branch. It was known as Armed Forces Day. In honor of the 66th annual Armed Forces Day, here are 13 facts you may not know about the U.S. military.

 

1. Thirty American presidents served in the U.S. Army, 24 during time of war. Of the 30, two became five-star generals – George Washington and Dwight Eisenhower. Teddy Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor. — military.com

2. 1,760 PlayStation 3s were used to build a supercomputer for the Department of Defense. — escapistmagazine.com

3. There are 1.8 million people on active duty, according to the Department of Defense. — DOD

4. The Department of Defense owns 29,819,492 acres of land worldwide. — DOD

5. The United States has 737 military installations overseas. — DOD

6. According to Military.com, the Navy’s bell-bottom trousers are believed to have been introduced in 1817 to permit men to roll them above the knee when washing down the decks. In addition, the trousers can be used as a life preserver if you knot the legs.

7. The Marine Corps motto is “Semper Fidelis,” Latin for “Always Faithful.”

8. The last time the United States “declared war” was in 1942. — Wikipedia

9. The U.S. Department of Defense is the world’s largest employer. — DOD

10. The Department of Defense uses 4.6 billion US gallons of fuel annually. — DOD

11. Stores on U.S. military bases outside of America will not accept pennies as currency. It’s too expensive to ship them there and back. — Los Angeles Times

12. The U.S. military uses a nearly silent type of Velcro that reduces the ripping noise by over 95 percent. — Reddit

13. A service member in a designated combat zone or hazardous duty area generally does not have to pay federal income tax on the military pay and reimbursements during his or her service there. — Internal Revenue Service

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