Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System (Mars: Fill & Download for Free

Since, when referring to a given country’s military’s size, it is often considered personnel size (that is, total numbers of service members), I’ll detail the number of military and civilian members according to each branch.I will try to cover budget numbers and some trivia, as well, but I won’t go into equipment (ships, armored vehicles, aircraft, etc), because such data varies depending on many conditions — such as equipment lost/damaged, equipment in-reserve, equipment on-order but not yet delivered or commissioned, and so on…[* Too Long; Didn’t Read (TL;DR): I will leave an Overall Summary by the end of the answer, just before the trivia extras.]UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG — administratively under the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS):Active Duty — 42,042 personnel (2018);Coast Guard Reserve — 6,142 personnel (2018);Civilian Employees — 8,577 employees (2018);Coast Guard Auxiliary — ~24,000 members (2018 estimate);TOTAL PERSONNEL — ~80,761 members.* Budget: US$ ~11.34 billion (Fiscal Year 2020 budget request).UNITED STATES NAVY (USN — part of the Department of the Navy, under the U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD):Active Duty — 336,978 personnel (2018);Navy Reserve (Ready Reserve) — 108,718 personnel (2018);Civilian Employees — 279,471 employees (2018);U.S. Merchant Marine (Navy Auxiliary) — ~69,000 members (outdated 2007 estimate);TOTAL PERSONNEL — ~794,167 members.* Budget: US$ ~159.7 billion (Fiscal Year 2020 budget request; does not include auxiliary).UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS (USMC — part of the Department of the Navy, under the U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD):Active Duty — 184,427 personnel (2018);Marine Forces Reserve (Ready Reserve) — 38,473 personnel (2018);Civilian Employees — 20,484 employees (2018);TOTAL PERSONNEL — 243,384 members.* Budget: US$ ~45.9 billion (Fiscal Year 2020 budget request).UNITED STATES ARMY (USA — part of the Department of the Army, under the U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD):Active Duty — 471,513 personnel (2018);Ready Reserve:Army National Guard — ~343,000 personnel (authorized end-strength, 2018);Selected Reserve — ~199,500 personnel (2019 estimate).Civilian Employees — 299,644 employees (2018);TOTAL PERSONNEL — ~1,313,657 members.* Budget: US$ ~182.3 billion (Fiscal Year 2020 budget request).UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (USAF — part of the Department of the Air Force, under the U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD):Active Duty — 323,222 personnel (2018);Ready Reserve:Air National Guard — ~129,124 personnel (2017 estimate);Selected Reserve — 68,216 personnel (2018).Civilian Employees — 174,754 employees (2018);Civil Air Patrol (Air Force Auxiliary) — 65,635 members (2019);TOTAL PERSONNEL — ~760,951 members.* Budget: US$ ~165.6 billion (Fiscal Year 2020 request; does not include auxiliary).UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE (USSF — part of the Department of the Air Force, under the U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD):Overall Personnel (military & civilian combined) — ~16,000 members authorized (as of 2020), being gradually transferred over from the USAF’s Space Command.* Budget: US$ ~40 million (authorized by Congress for Fiscal Year 2020).“The Minute Man”, by Daniel Chester French (1874–1875). The Colonial period’s ‘Minutemen’ embody the American ideal of regular State civil militias.STATE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS (considering all of such departments throughout the United States and its territories):State Naval Militias — ~4,580 members (overall; 2014 estimate);State Military Reserves/State Militias — ~17,415 members (overall; 2017 estimate);TOTAL MEMBERS — ~21,995 members.MILITARY AUXILIARY RADIO SYSTEM (MARS — inter-service auxiliary force, working alongside the DoD, DHS and others):Overall Members — ~5,000 volunteers (2014 estimate).OVERALL SUMMARY (TL;DR):Department of Homeland Security (DHS):U.S. Coast Guard — 56,761 personnel | US$ ~11.34 billion budget.Department of Defense (DoD):U.S. Navy — 725,167 personnel | US$ ~159.7 billion budget;U.S. Marine Corps — 243,384 personnel | US$ ~45.9 billion budget;U.S. Army — ~1,313,657 personnel | US$ ~182.3 billion budget;U.S. Air Force — ~695,316 personnel | US$ ~165.6 billion budget;U.S. Space Force — ~16,000 personnel | US$ ~40 million budget.Auxiliaries and Militias:U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary — ~24,000 members;U.S. Merchant Marine — ~69,000 members;State Naval Militias — ~4,580 members;State Militias — ~17,415 members;Civil Air Patrol — 65,635 members;Military Auxiliary Radio System — ~5,000 members.OVERALL TOTAL — ~3,235,915 personnel | US$ ~564.88 billion* budget.[*This number doesn’t account for research, development, contracts, etc, which make up the rest of the total US$ 738 billion defense budget for 2020.]* TRIVIA:The population of the United States is estimated at around 328 million people (2019), of which some 120 million are military-aged persons (17–45 years) — with about at least half of those (being optimistic) fit for a military draft, if required;Against the country’s population estimate, the total 3.23 million military personnel account for just short of 1% of the population;The US has an estimated veteran population of some 23 million veterans, many still available and ready for service, if necessary;There are over 300 million civilian-owned firearms in the US — virtually one for every person in the country;The US has an estimated 90 million hunters (most are casual, with only some 11.5 million regular hunters accounted by official census);Of the 3.23 million military personnel, the US currently maintains around 240,000 personnel rotating deployment duties overseas (barely 7.5% of the total personnel);The US military maintains some 70,000 personnel under the USSOCOM (just over 2% of the total military personnel size), likely making the US’s the largest active military Special Operations population among all countries — which is significant, given the unconventional, asymmetric nature of modern warfighting (requiring ever more specialized forces to conduct sabotage, clandestine reconnaissance, surgical raids… and so on, and so forth);The US operates 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered super aircraft carriers, 1 Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered super aircraft carrier, 8 Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, 1 America-class amphibious assault ship, 11 San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks, 35 Runnymede-class landing craft, 68 nuclear-powered submarines, and more (the largest, most purpose-oriented Naval Projection force in the world).

Start by reading either Military Auxiliary Radio System > Home (Air force) or US Army MARS (Army). Be aware that a certain time commitment will be required to participate.

I served on the USS Nimitz in the late 1978–81. We had many capabilities that you would probably not expect. We did have a complete metal and wood machining and working shop. I had little contact with them, but the ship gave me a nice wood plaque with a cast metal Nimitz medallion that was made onboard the ship. If you are at sea, even if it is peace-time cruising, you have to be as independent as possible.We had about 5500 men, all men at that time, as crew when the ship was deployed or training. That was about 3000 ships company and about 2500 air wing. That means that just about any human need or problem could come up.We were lucky because we had planes, so we got mail frequently. We also had a U.S. Post Office and a bank. You have to pay people and they have to take care of their families and their homes.We had a barbershop that looked and functioned just like most barbershops. We had a fully equipped dental department and medical department, both fully staffed with skilled professionals.We had a gym that was reasonably well equipped, although I bet that they are considerably better now. We could set up basketball backboards in the hangar bay. When we had at-sea stand-down days in good weather we had flight deck picnics with grilled steaks, burgers, etc., and your typical potato salad, cole slaw, etc. You definitely want to feed people well at sea; it can help make up for a lot of the inconveniences of being at sea and away from home.We had a brig and a lawyer, and the Captain was the arbiter of non-judicial punishment. We had a “Master-at-arms” department, which was our police force.We had a group that would set up group tours overseas or make travel arrangements for people taking leave while overseas.In those days, communication with home was very limited. There is a group called MARS, Military Auxiliary Radio System, which is a group of volunteer civilian amateur shortwave radio operators that were organized to provide another emergency communication system for the military. If you had personal issues and needed to speak to people back home you could use a shipboard shortwave communication system and connect with a member of MARS locally to the location of the person that you needed to speak with. Phone calls were made and communication was back and forth through the shortwave broadcast and the phone system. This was pretty much limited to emergency situations. With the advances in technology I am sure that the internet is used by the crew to communicate back home these days.We had chaplains and a chapel.There was a college professor who traveled with us and taught college courses to anyone interested.That is all that I remember, but I am sure there are many other capabilities that we had.