1. The Army is older than the country it serves.

Americans celebrate the birth of their nation as July 4, 1776, but the Army is actually the country's "big brother." That makes sense, considering the Continental Army of 1775 — led by future President George Washington — needed to start beating the British in the colonies so Thomas Jefferson could finally get some time to write.

Before the Army was established, colonists were organized into rag-tag militias with no real structure or unified chain of command. But in spring 1775, most wanted to attack the British near Boston but knew they needed more structure to confront the professional soldiers on the other side. That's where the official birth of the Army came in, on June 14, 1775, through a resolution from the Continental Congress.

The next day, George Washington was appointed as commander-in-chief of the new Army, and he took command of his troops in Boston on July 3, 1775, according to the Army History Division.

2. If the US Army were a city, it would be the 10th largest in the United States.

Just over 1 million soldiers are serving in the Army. About half of that number is on active duty and serving full time, while the rest make up the reserve components of the National Guard and Army Reserve. To put it in perspective, a city filled with soldiers would have more people in it than San Jose, California; Austin, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; and San Francisco.

3. It is also the second-largest employer.

With 2.2 million people on the payroll, Walmart is America's largest employer. But the Army maintains the second spot with more than 1 million active-duty and reserve soldiers. While budget cuts brought the number of soldiers in uniform down substantially in 2015 to about 1,042,200, the Army still beats the next-largest employer of Yum Brands, which has 523,000 total employees.

4. Specialist is the most prevalent rank among soldiers — by far.

There's a reason many soldiers joke about the existence of an "E-4 Mafia." That's because if you want anything done in the Army, you'll probably need a specialist (or three) to get it done. Across active-duty and reserve ranks in 2015, there are 264,890 specialists, making up more than one-quarter of the US Army.

Though the Army used to have specialist ranks that had grades from Spec-4 to Spec-9, it eliminated that system in 1985, setting aside Specialist-4 as a junior-enlisted rank called just "Specialist" from then on. Unlike corporals, who are also E-4s, the specialist rank isn't considered a non-commissioned officer, which is probably why some are very good at earning their "sham shield."

5. The service burns through nearly 1 billion gallons of fuel every year.

Just like any other large organization that needs energy to sustain operations, the Army needs fuel. A lot of fuel. A 2011 Army fact sheet estimated the Army used more than 22 gallons every day, per soldier — much more than only one gallon required per soldier during World War II.

A 2008 Army report said the service purchased approximately 880 million gallons of fuel for mobility operations. The report is a little dated though, and the Army — along with the rest of the DoD — has been working hard to bring down its energy usage, citing a reliance on fossil fuels as a major national-security risk and logistical problem for troops in the field.

6. Among US Presidents with military service, most served in the Army.

Of the 44 men who have served as president of the US, 31 had military service. Twenty-four of them served in the Army, or in state militias (our modern-day National Guard). Though being in the military is not a requirement for the presidency, President George Washington started a trend that saw future presidents in some cases making their name as war heroes: Theodore Roosevelt received the Medal of Honor for his famous charge up San Juan Hill, and George H.W. Bush received the Distinguished Flying Cross during World War II and barely escaped after his plane was shot down.

7. The Army owns so much land that if it were a state, it would be larger than Hawaii and Massachusetts combined.

Not surprisingly, the Army has a ton of infrastructure. Soldiers serve at 158 installations around the world, and the service owns more than 15 million acres of land across the US, which totals up to roughly 24,000 square miles. That would make the "State of Army" larger than smaller states like Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

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On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia voted to "adopt" troops in Boston and New York City, forming the force that, in the centuries since, has become the US Army.

From it start as state militias joined together to fight the fearsome British redcoats, the US Army has gone on to become the strongest fighting force in the world.

The US Army, the largest branch of the US armed forces, is charged with land-based operations, drawing on some of the best technology in the world to do it. 

On the US Army's 242nd birthday, you some photos of its storied history below.

SEE ALSO: 29 photos of the US's war in Afghanistan — a fight James Mattis says 'we are not winning ... right now'

Some of the first pictures of the US Army are of Union soldiers during the Civil War. Here's a photo of soldiers camping along the west bank of the Rappahonnock River at Fredericksburg, Virginia, during the Battle of Chancellorsville.

One of the most famous Army units was Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders." They are pictured here after the Battle of San Juan in 1898.

The Army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft in 1910. Here, Army planes fly over Manhattan in 1939.

US Army life has created a lot of heroes in its 242 years of service. Here are 9 of the most legendary soldiers to have ever shot, bayoneted, and blown up America’s enemies:

1. Gen. George Washington

The legendary standard, George Washington began as a militia officer working for the British Crown but later commanded all American forces both as the top general in the Revolutionary War and later the first commander in chief.

2. Sgt. John Lincoln Clem

John Lincoln Clem changed his own middle name from Joseph to Lincoln sometime before he tried to enlist in the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War when he was 9. After being rejected by another unit, he made it into the 22nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry who sawed down the musket he later used to kill a Confederate officer who demanded his surrender.

He was promoted to sergeant and became a national hero before being discharged in 1864. He returned in 1871 and rose to major general before retiring in 1915.

3. Sgt. Alvin York

Sgt. Alvin York tried to stay out of World War I as a conscientious objector. When his plea was denied, he followed orders and went to war where he captured 132 German soldiers almost single-handedly. He then escorted those prisoners through German lines, marching them past their own comrades.

4. Sgt. Henry Johnson

Sgt. Henry Johnson was a “Harlem Hellfighter” of World War I. During a fight in the Argonne Forest, Johnson and a buddy came under attack by a dozen Germans. Johnson held them off with grenades and rifle fire until he ran out of ammo, then he finished the job with a knife, saving the rest of his unit.

5. Sgt. Audie Murphy

One of the most decorated service members in history, Sgt. Audie Murphy was initially too small to enlist after Pearl Harbor and had to fight to get into the Army. Once in Europe, he engaged in a series of heroics including jumping onto a burning tank to hold off waves of infantry and six enemy tanks.

6. Gen. George S. Patton

The Olympian and West Point graduate Gen. George S. Patton is most known for his role in creating the Armored Corps, leading tanks in World War II, and coining a collection of inspirational quotes, but he also served in World War I and the American expedition to capture Pancho Villa in Mexico.

7. Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Gen. Douglas MacArthur led the Army as the chief of staff through the early years of Great Depression. He retired but was recalled to active duty in 1941. He led Pacific Forces in World War II and then ran the war in Korea until he was relieved of command for openly criticizing President Harry S. Truman.

8. Cpl. Tibor Rubin

Tibor Rubin survived the Mauthausen, Austria, concentration camp and joined the U.S. Army to show his appreciation for them liberating him. In Korea, he held a hilltop on his own for 24 hours while his unit retreated using the road he was guarding. When he was finally captured, he refused offers by the Chinese to send him to his native Hungary, instead staying as a prisoner and stealing food for others.

9. Col. Lewis Millett

Lewis Millett joined the Army in 1941 but got tired of waiting for the U.S. to invade someone, so he deserted to Canada and got himself deployed to London. When America entered the war, he jumped back under the Stars and Bars and twice saved men in his unit from certain death before his desertion charges caught up with him.

He was convicted and then promoted to second lieutenant within weeks. When Korea rolled around, he was an infantry captain who received a Distinguished Service Cross for a bayonet charge he led on Feb. 4, 1951 and a Medal of Honor for another bayonet charge on Feb. 7. He later served in Vietnam and retired as a colonel.

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Though the US Army celebrates its birthday as June 14, 1775, it didn't have the special operators with their distinctive "green beret" until much later.

Army Special Forces got its start on June 19, 1952, and since then, its soldiers have been at the forefront of fights in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and today, are advising US-backed forces inside Syria.

They call themselves the quiet professionals, and they are one of the most elite fighting groups in the world.

Their mission is unconventional warfare — taking small SF teams to train and lead guerrilla forces.

SF soldiers usually work together in a 12-man "A-Team," with each man holding a specific job: The ranking officer is the team leader, the weapons sergeant knows just about every weapon in the world, the communications sergeant tees up ordnance or extract, and the medics can take lives as quickly as saving them.

It may seem crazy to send only 12 guys into a hostile country, but it's not crazy when they are Special Forces.

The US Army Special Forces are known for their exceptional skill and professionalism in modern war.

Alongside the CIA, they were the first Americans on the ground in Afghanistan only one month after 9/11.

There they linked up with the Northern Alliance and brought Hamid Karzai into Kabul.

A soldier from the Royal Tank Regiment has died and three others have been wounded after an incident at Castlemartin Ranges in Pembrokeshire, Wales, the Ministry of Defence said.

The soldier, who has not been named, was hurt on Wednesday afternoon in an area used for tank training exercises by the Royal Armoured Corps.

Defence minister Tobias Ellwood said he had died from his injuries but did not offer any further detail as to the nature of the incident. 

"It is with deep sadness that I can confirm the death of a soldier from the Royal Tank Regiment who died as a result of injuries sustained in an incident at Castlemartin Ranges. His next of kin were by his bedside," Mr Ellwood said. 

A firing notice for Castlemartin on the Government's website suggested live firing had been due to take place on the range from Monday to Friday.

A notice said the road from Bosherston to St Govan's Chapel and the footpath from St Govan's Head to Broadhaven would be closed every day.

The notice added that night firing was due to take place on Tuesday and Thursday.

Castlemartin is the only UK Army range available for armoured units for direct-fire live gunnery exercises.

It comes five years after a 21-year-old soldier died at Castlemartin when he was shot in the head while relaxing at a safe location just outside the training range.

A 2013 inquest into the death of Michael "Mike" Maguire heard he was hit in the temple by a single bullet after live machine gun fire was wrongly directed inland towards the safe haven he was in.

The inquest jury ruled Ranger Maguire, who was a member of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, had been unlawfully killed.

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On June 15, the U.S. Army announced that it will maintain an end strength of just over a million soldiers despite previous plans to reduce troop numbers to 980,000 by fiscal year 2018.

“The end strength increase will augment deploying units, and units on high readiness status, with additional soldiers to increase Army readiness and enable us to continue to protect the nation,” Brig. Gen. Brian J. Mennes, director of the Force Management Division, said in a statement.

With tensions escalating in areas like the Middle East, East Asia, and North Africa, the Army’s need to retain and recruit more soldiers has become more pressing than in previous years.

By then end of 2018, the Army wants to maintain a fighting force of 476,000 active duty soldiers, 343,000 soldiers in the National Guard, and 199,000 Reserve soldiers.

What’s more, units that were previously slated to be cut like the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team; 25th Infantry Division at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the 18th Military Police Brigade Headquarters in Europe, the 206th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas, the 61st Maintenance Company, and a combat aviation brigade in South Korea, will continue to be operational under the FY18 budget request.

“These force structure gains facilitated by the FY17 end strength increase have begun, but some will take several years to achieve full operational capability,” Mennes said. “Implementation of these decisions, without sacrificing readiness or modernization, is dependent upon receiving future appropriations commensurate with the authorized end strength.”

The Army’s push to fill its ranks may also mean better incentives for soldiers to consider reenlistment.

As the branch scrambles to increase troop levels, it plans to increase its bonus budget request for fiscal year 2018 threefold to more than $380 million, according to the Associated Press. In addition, the Pentagon wants to remove eligibility limits on the dollar-for-dollar contributions made to senior enlisted troops’ 401(k) accounts under the new “blended retirement system” to encourage retention across all service branches.

“The top line message is that the Army is hiring,” Maj. Gen. Jason Evans, who recently became the service’s head of Human Resources Command, told the AP.

Regardless of how it manages to grow, enemies should brace themselves for the million-man machine that the Army will soon become.

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US Army personnel have successfully used advanced electronic warfare technology to completely disable enemy armor during a simulated tank assault at the Army National Training Center, Defense Systems reports.

Developed by the Army Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO), the combination of wireless communications-jamming and hacker exploits of vehicle systems forces enemy tanks to “stop, dismount, get out of their protection, [and] reduce their mobility,” as one Army observer described the ANTC training exercise at Fort Irwin, California.

This is only the second major Army test of tactical electronic warfare in recent history. In April, the RCO outfitted nearly 20 soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment at US Army Garrison Bavaria in Vilseck, Germany, with advanced electronic warfare equipment for field-testing, the first time an Army electronic warfare system had been deployed in a tactical environment.

Barely the size of “a lightweight backpack,” the vehicle- and -infantry portable kits come with two primary capabilities: VROD (Versatile Radio Observation & Direction) to “detect and understand” enemy electromagnetic signals, and the so-called VMAX to “search and attack” with “electronic attack effects” that the Army RCO described as “more effective than the existing jammers used by anti-missile systems in aircraft.”

The two tests signal critical milestones in the Department of Defense’s mission to transform“cyber soldiers” from DARPA pipe-dream to tactical tool, a stark contrast to then-Pentagon research and engineering chief Alan Shaffer’s harsh observation in 2014 that the US “[had] lost the electromagnetic spectrum.”

As Breaking Defense points out, the Army drastically scaled back its electronic warfare branch at the end of the Cold War. And while the Pentagon has put a premium on cybersecurity and operations over the last several years, the separate military domain of battlefield-level electronic warfare, “tactical cyber” — “the art of detecting, disrupting, and deceiving” radio and electromagnetic signals — taking a backseat to warding off Russian and Chinese hackers and securing essential systems and infrastructure. 

Since the Army’s official electronic warfare program reportedly won’t field an operational offensive jammer until 2023, then-Army Secretary Eric Fanning and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in 2015 tasked the RCO with a $100 million budget to develop and test various electronic warfare prototypes as quickly as possible within the next five years. And in 2016, the Army began exploring the development of a brand new electronic warfare unit to see battle alongside their fellow rifleman.

“The mission analysis just starts today,” Army cyber chief Brig. Gen. Patricia Frost told reporters in December 2016, emphasizing the rapid development of electronic warfare specialists to start reclaiming the virtual battlefield ceded over the last several decades. “With the analysis that we’re doing over the next three to six months, we’ll rack and stack what are the capabilities that exist today that can allow us to experiment.”

In light of Russia’s territorial aspirations in the Ukraine and Eastern Europe, field-testing the new electronic warfare kits out of Vilseck, nestled between vulnerable NATO allies like Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. According to RCO director Doug Wiltsie, the latest versions will see operational testing as part of the multinational US European Command exercise Saber Guardian with 20 partner nations in October.

But don’t expect to see the new electronic warfare kits floating around your barracks anytime soon. According to Wiltsie, the Army plans on incorporating soldier feedback and concerns into addition testing from July through Saber Guardian in October before eventually fielding the new EW kits to soldiers downrange by the end of 2017.

“This is not the enduring program,” Wiltse said during the C4ISRNET annual conference in Washington D.C. in May. “We’re looking at electronic warfare for one theater, [and] the requirement that I will meet when we field this stuff by the end of this year will be nowhere near the full capability.”

SEE ALSO: That time American and Russian tanks faced off in a divided Berlin

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The Army and Textron are adding new computer processing power and cyber-hardening technology to the current inventory of ground control stations operating drones in combat, as a way to better defend against enemy "hacking,""jamming" and "interference" with video feeds, service officials said.  

The Textron-built Universal Ground Control Station (UGCS), which currently operates the Army’s Shadow and Grey Eagle drones, is being engineered with new performance-enhancing software to secure drone controls and drone video feeds from hacking, interference and cyberattacks.

“The UGCS hardware obsolescence effort replaces components within the existing UGCS, reducing weight and easing the burden on heavily-laden tactical vehicles.  The new hardware will provide increased computing power -- accommodating the new software architecture developed under the software obsolescence effort,” Capt. Scott Zimmerman, Assistant Product Director for UGCS, told Scout Warrior. 

The current upgrade, described as a software and hardware obsolescence project, will use an emerging Army software architecture called Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, Zimmerman added.

The re-architected software is designed to lower costs and accommodate new technologies and upgrades more efficiently – while strengthening cybersecurity.

“We continue to support those products by developing new features, capability sets for them, building and producing new GCSs,” said Wayne Prender, Vice President, Control and Surface Systems, Textron Systems.

These semi-annual upgrades are part of a multi-pronged Army strategy to sustain and improve ground-control technology for drones now in combat as well as those planned for future years.

“Over the next year, the team will continue the software infrastructure build, which will serve as the framework within which software applications will operate.  Software applications will be selected from the ‘best of breed’ across industry,” Zimmerman said.

Securing drone feeds and drone operations is increasingly important in today’s combat environment because enemies and potential adversaries are rapidly acquiring “jamming” and “hacking” technologies giving them an ability to interfere with or compromise U.S. drone operations.

The Army has already been using what it calls “manned-unmanned teaming” in Afghanistan where an Apache or Kiowa helicopter can view real-time video feeds from nearby drones. This technology also allows helicopter crews to control the sensor payload of nearby drones. Army helicopter pilots and acquisition program managers explain that this technology has greatly expedited attack missions by giving helicopters faster and better target information at longer ranges.

Textron developers say its current UGCSs and One-System-Remote-Video-Terminals help facilitate this technology. 

“A dismounted user, vehicle-mounted user in a ground vehicle or somebody in a helicopter has the ability to take control of a sensor that is on an unmanned aircraft and maneuver,” Prender explained. “With that control they can provide a navigation through the gimbal of the aircraft.”

The Army’s long-term plan for ground control stations includes work on emerging requirements for a system which allows for simultaneous operation of multiple drones; Textron is developing its own multi-drone, multi-domain control technology designed to meet these emerging requirements – called Synturian.

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Former Navy SEAL Clint Emerson, author of "100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation," explains what to do if you're ever attacked by a dog.

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An Apache helicopter just successfully honed in on and hit an unmanned target with a laser gun, according to a press release from Raytheon, the weapon's manufacturer.

It was the "first time that a fully integrated laser system successfully engaged and fired on a target from a rotary-wing aircraft over a wide variety of flight regimes, altitudes and air speeds," Raytheon said. The Apache hit the target from about 0.9 miles away. 

Raytheon combined a version of the Multi-Spectral Targeting System, which is an electro-optical infrared sensor, with the laser during the test, the company said. 

Laser weapons are unique in that humans can't hear or see them, which does not bode well for the enemy, according to the Pentagon. They're also extremely accurate since they fire along a straight line, instead of an arc, which bullets and artillery shells fire along. 

They may also prove one day to be a cheaper alternative to the Apache's 30mm machine gun and hellfire missiles, which cost about $115,000 each, according to War is Boring.

As Matthew Ketner, branch chief of the High Energy Laser Controls and Integration Directorate in Virginia, told the Army News Service: "Lasers don't run out of bullets."

But there are still obstacles to overcome, according to Ketner. Laser weapons use a lot of energy and, at least for now, have a hard time breaking through dust, smoke, and haze.

Still, the military has increasingly looked to laser weapons. There has been an operational 30-kilowatt laser mounted on the USS Ponce since 2014.

More recently, the Air Force announced it had plans to test a laser weapon on an AC-130J gunship, and that they were working on arming B-52 bombers with defensive lasers.

Last month, the Army also announced that it successfully shot down a drone with a laser.

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The US military wasn't "necessarily concerned" about limiting civilian deaths during the 2007 troop surge in Iraq, according to the Army's top general overseeing logistics.

At a forum sponsored by the Association of the US Army, Lt. Gen. Aundre F. Piggee made the comment in contrast to air strikes in the fight for Mosul, which he said were carried out with more care to avoid collateral damage.

“These high-tech munitions limit collateral damage, and we were not necessarily concerned about that at the height of the Surge,” Piggee said, according to a transcript on the AUSA website. "Now in Mosul, we are absolutely concerned about that.”

The statement is starkly different from the usual Pentagon messaging of always taking care to reduce civilian casualties. A 2003 American Forces Press Services article, for example, touted the use of precision-guided munitions that would reduce casualties in the Iraq War. The same article quoted then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as saying the coalition would "take great care" to avoid them.

Still, Piggee's statement seems a stunning explanation for the rise in civilian deaths during that time. Civilian deaths in Iraq went up by roughly 70% in 2007, according to the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

Perhaps the most infamous example came in the release of the Iraq War logs by WikiLeaks. Leaked gun camera footage taken by US Apache helicopters in 2007 showed the pilots firing on and killing several civilians, including two Reuters journalists.

A US airstrike in March killed 105 civilians in Mosul, marking one of the deadliest days for civilians since the campaign to retake Mosul began in late 2016. A Pentagon investigation asserted that explosives placed in the building by ISIS was a major factor contributing to the death toll.

In a statement provided to Business Insider, Piggee took issue with reporting on his remarks at AUSA:

"The battlefield in Iraq during the surge and during Mosul were two completely different battlefield scenarios," Piggee said. "The battle for Mosul is close-in, urban fighting, which requires the use of more precision munitions and technologies.  The surge was not limited to urban areas, which allowed us to use a range of munitions.  In both cases we were — and remain — equally concerned about reducing and preventing civilian casualties."

This article was updated June 30 at 7:35 a.m. PDT with a statement from Piggee.

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In the 241 years since the US declared independence from the English in 1776, the uniforms of those serving in the US Army have changed drastically. 

Over the years, as the nation grew, uniforms too have evolved to fit the times and take advantage of changes in tactics and technology. In some cases, as this paper from US Army History notes, the changes were minor affairs, while in other cases, the look of the US Army was radically changed. 

We have highlighted some of the major advancements in US Army uniforms in the graphic below. 

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The US and South Korea conducted joint missile drills off the coast of the southern half of the Korean peninsula on Wednesday (July 5) in a show of force after North Korea tested a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) it said could carry a large and heavy nuclear warhead.

In video provided by a local tv network run by South Korea's defence ministry, an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II were seen being launched into the sky. The United States Army said in a statement that the drills showed both the U.S. and South Korea's military capability to "engage the full array of time critical targets under all weather conditions."

North Korea's test on Tuesday (July 4) triggered a call by Washington for global action to hold Pyongyang accountable for its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Some experts believe the tested ICBM had the range to reach parts of the mainland United States.

The North's official news agency KCNA said it had successfully verified the technical requirements of the newly developed ICBM in stage separation, the atmospheric re-entry of the warhead and the late-stage control of the warhead.

Produced by Claudia Romeo

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A 19-year-old American soldier has died in Afghanistan's Helmand province from wounds received in an attack, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Private First Class Hansen Kirkpatrick of Wasilla, Alaska, died on Monday in the incident, which was under investigation, a Pentagon statement said. Further details were not available.

Large stretches of the restive province in southern Afghanistan, the source of much of the world's illegal opium supply, are in the hands of Taliban insurgents, who have steadily pushed back Afghan forces that now control less than 60% of the country.

The Trump administration is considering adding several thousand troops, largely in a training and support capacity, to the pared-down US military presence in Afghanistan.

SEE ALSO: Iraqi commander says some 300 ISIS fighters holed up in just 5,000 square feet of Mosul

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At the end of June, Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky helicopter division signed a massive $3.8 billion Department of Defense contract for 257 UH-60 Black Hawk utility copters, destined for the U.S. Army and certain foreign military customers over the next five years.

The contract, which included both the classic Black Hawk and its HH-60M MEDEVAC variant, includes opportunities for the Army to pick up an extra 103 aircraft, according to the Hartford Courant, a clause that would push the value of the deal as high as $5.2 billion through 2022.

The problem? The Army’s having some serious difficulty actually flying these iconic choppers.

Days before Lockheed Martin announced the new contract, a Pentagon inspector general audit revealed that the Army “did not provide adequate funding and training for H-60 pilots on the new equipment.” And if this problem goes unaddressed, the branch may face a shortage of up to 160 trained H-60 pilots by 2026.

Sadly, the Army has nobody to blame but itself for this problem. According to the DoD IG report, the shortfall in funding and training occurred “because Army officials did not agree which Army organization was responsible for funding and conducting H-60 new equipment training” — the various branch offices literally just passed the buck to one another. To correct the issue, the branch will require nearly $153 million more than currently budgeted for both training and new equipment for 1,390 Black Hawk pilots through 2035.

But training isn’t the only problem. The audit found that Army Aviation and Missile Command “did not effectively manage airframe condition evaluations for the UH-60 fleet,” with nearly 25% (460 out of 2,098) of the branch’s Black Hawk helicopters foregoing safety inspections and other mandatory evaluations between March 2016 and February 2017.

This problem extended down to the unit level, too. “Evaluators identified safety problems with some UH-60 helicopters that required the unit commander to ground (restrict flying) those helicopters,” the audit says. “However, the unit commander did not always allow evaluators to finish the evaluation of additional helicopters because he did not want to ground more helicopters if additional safety problems were identified.” 

The Army wanted to have a fully modernized and upgraded fleet of 2,135 Black Hawks by 2035, according to the audit, but how the branch plans on squaring its new five-year billion-dollar contract with Sikorsky and its imminent pilot shortfall is unclear. Army officials did not immediately return requests for comment from Task & Purpose.

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When you're slinking behind enemy lines, the last thing you want is to be detected.

For the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), the next step in military vehicle technology marks its location with only a hint of water dripping out of its tailpipe.

The only sound you'll hear as it approaches is the crunch of the ground beneath its big mud tires. And its heat profile is almost invisible to infrared cameras.

The Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell electric truck is quite a departure from the rumbling diesel Humvees long emblematic of the Army.

Behind the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2's show-stand looks are a host of goodies that make it a highly capable off-roader for the armed forces. The one-off  ZH2 is currently undergoing a year of Army evaluation at several bases spread across the U.S. We caught up with it at Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the foothills of the Rocky Mountains approximate the terrain in some of the world's most dangerous places.

Test-bed of technology

GM formally handed the Colorado ZH2 to TARDEC for a year-long evaluation beginning late last year. It may look like a concept, but its chunky looks hide a test-bed of technologies. Chief among them is the 170-horsepower electric motor that receives its juice from a hydrogen fuel cell. This test truck actually uses a Gen 0 (in GM-speak) fuel cell powertrain borrowed from GM's now-discontinued line of fuel cell Chevy Equinox crossovers. It's not the latest and greatest fuel cell setup, but it does serve as a good starting point for military testing in a variety of durability and feasibility situations that simulate everything from reconnaissance to combat.

The hydrogen fuel cell also provides juice to a separate electric generator housed behind a top-hinged trunk where the standard Colorado's bed would be. An electric generator could eventually replace the loud, inefficient diesel generators the armed forces currently lug behind their Humvees to power their communications devices.

Underneath, the ZH2 is basically an off-road ready Colorado ZR2 with a slightly lifted suspension, 37-inch BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain off-road rubber, beefier skid plates, and rocker panel-protecting tubular rails. It's mostly off-the-shelf stuff that makes an already capable four-wheeler more durable.

A production military vehicle with a fuel-cell powertrain isn't likely to look much like this Colorado, but army officials did tell us that the mid-size pickup's dimensions and inherent maneuverability are appealing advantages—if not unique to the ZH2. Instead, the test focuses mostly on the ZH2's instant torque electric motor and the range and reliability of its hydrogen fuel-cell.

Getting hydrogen to Fort Carson is no easy task. At this base just outside Colorado Springs, the Army's closest filling station is the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Wind Test Site near Golden—about 90 minutes away. The Army can extract hydrogen from the JP8 fuel it uses in most of its combustion engines, though doing so on the small scale required for the ZH2 test isn't feasible.

At least the Army has seen up to 200 miles of range out of the ZH2, depending on the type of terrain it's driven through. Our brief ride-along on a sunny day didn't exactly test that range, but it did show off the ZH2's rapid acceleration. Its suspension soaks up boulders the size of Prius wheels reasonably well, softer than a Humvee but not nearly as plush as a Ford F-150 Raptor. There's no noise other than gravel shifting below its big tires and rocks occasionally tapping its skid plates—a surreal experience on its own.

Just how the armed forces are likely to use a hydrogen-fueled vehicle remains up for debate, though this test should help TARDEC gain a lot of insight. The inherent combustibility of hydrogen necessitates extra careful precautions for the ZH2's tank, which is designed to vent upward and outward in the event of a breach.

True, that could limit its use in combat situations, but TARDEC suggested that electric motors fed by hydrogen fuel cells could make a lot of sense as generators capable of powering an entire remote location in silence. In some of the world's most dangerous places, silence may be the best weapon yet.

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A new personal assistant selected by the Queen is set to become the first black equerry in British history.

Ghanaian-born Major Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah has been chosen for the role, one of the most important positions in the royal household.

The 38-year-old Afghanistan veteran, known as TA among friends, will start this year, according to The Sunday Times.

His role as equerry is to support the monarch at official engagements such as regional visits and audiences at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen's Equerry is an officer from one of the armed services, who takes on the role for three years.

Major Twumasi-Ankrah moved to the UK from Ghana with his parents in 1982 and studied at Queen Mary University of London and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

He became the first black British Army Officer to be commissioned into the Household Cavalry, and acted as escort commander for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.

The timing of his appointment is significant as the Duke of Edinburgh is to retire from his duties later this year.

Twumasi-Ankrah is likely to become the most visible man by the Queen’s side.

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A US official says that an active-duty Army soldier has been arrested by the FBI in Hawaii on terrorism charges.

Ikaika Erik Kang, 34, was arrested for allegedly trying to give military documents and training to ISIS, CBS News reported. 

He also allegedly pledged allegiance to the terror group, CBS News said. 

The US official told the Associated Press that Kang was with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu.

The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

FBI spokesman Arnold Laanui told AP Monday that SWAT team special agents arrested Kang on Saturday. 

FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul D. Delacourt told Fox News that the US Army and FBI had been investigating Kang for more than a year. 

CBS News also said that Kang was highly decorated after deployments to Afghanistan in 2013 and Iraq in 2011. 

Kang is thought to have worked alone and is scheduled to appear in court next Monday afternoon, CBS said, citing a criminal complaint. 

SEE ALSO: How US Army uniforms changed over the 241 years since independence

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Port-au-Prince (AFP) - After two decades with no army, Haiti has announced plans to rebuild its military to handle disasters and smuggling, though some fear the force could return to misdeeds, and be a tool of oppression.

The poorest country in the Americas has announced an initial recruitment of 500 men and women aged 18 to 25, invoking the need to "reclaim national sovereignty" as a 13-year UN peacekeeping mission, known as the blue helmets, comes to an end.

The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was deployed in 2004 to stem violence following the sudden departure of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and is set to leave in October amid an improving security situation and a successful electoral process after two years of political turmoil.

It will leave behind a residual training force of international police officers.

"The departure of the blue helmets is a challenge, but it is something we have planned for," Defense Minister Herve Denis told AFP.

Checkered past 

The government says it plans to deploy troops along the border with the Dominican Republic in the fight against smuggling, and in regions hit by natural disasters. 

Denis added it will also wage war on terrorists: "Even if there isn't a high threat-level, we still have regional responsibilities," said Denis, while recognizing that, for the time being, the chronically unstable country is not being threatened by any external enemies.

Re-forming an army is merely a requirement of the country's constitution, which calls for a military alongside the police, Denis said, but added he prefers to use the term "defense and security force."

"I want people to understand that it's a new kind of institution that we want to create, one which is with the country in its quest towards development," he said.

A major part of that rebranding effort is the institution's checkered past.

Haiti's armed forces were dissolved in 1995 by then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted in a military coup seven months after he took power in 1991 — bringing an end to decades of political interference and dozens of coups.

But the nation has a bloody history of brutal militias, which brought terror to the mountainous Caribbean nation under various leaders.

Political militia? 

More than 20 years after the soldiers were sent home, the fresh recruitment drive is causing disquiet among civil society groups.

"There is no legal framework to define the missions of this army," said Pierre Esperance, director of the National Network Defense of Human Rights. "Those in power want to create a political militia or a paramilitary group, not an army."

With Haiti's total national budget just $2.2 billion, the cost of the force — which will eventually count between 3,000 and 5,000 staff, has been questioned by local and foreign observers.

"It would be better if authorities concentrated their efforts on the national police force...who should be better equipped to do their job," said Esperance.

The Haitian national police force was created in 1995 after the army disbanded. Its strength stands below 13,000, widely deemed insufficient for its population of 11 million.

SEE ALSO: Haiti is planning to reassemble its disbanded military

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