Uniformed services of the United StatesThe United States has eight federal uniformed services that commission officers as defined by Title 10 and subsequently structured and organized by Titles 10, 14, 32, 33, and 42 of the U.S. Code. Uniformed servicesThe uniformed services are: ArmyMarine CorpsNavyAir ForceSpace ForceCoast GuardPublic Health Service Commissioned CorpsNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer CorpsEach of the uniformed services is administratively headed by a federal executive department and its correspond...
Coast guardA coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy (a military branch) and the water police (a law enforcement agency), while in certain countr...United States Armed ForcesThe United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. United States federal law establishes six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, each assigned specific roles and operational domains. With the exception of the Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in peacetime, the services are organized under the Department of Defense (DoD). Established during the American Revolutionary War, the Army and the Navy, and...
Federal government of the United StatesThe federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The United States federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The powers of these three branches are defined and vested by the Constitution of the United States, which has been in effect since 1789. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including the creation of executive department...
United StatesUnder the First Amendment to the Constitution, the United States is considered to have the strongest protections of free speech of any country. Flag desecration, hate speech, blasphemy, and lese majesty are all forms of protected expression. A 2016 Pew Research Center poll found that Americans were the most supportive of free expression of any polity measured. Additionally, they are the "most supportive of freedom of the press and the right to use the Internet without government censorship". The U.S. is a social...
Law enforcementLaw enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term encompasses police, courts and corrections. These three components of the criminal justice system may operate independently of each other or collectively through the use of record sharing and cooperation. Throughout the world, law enforcement...
Search and rescueSearch and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs (such as K9 units); urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water. The International Search...
Maritime securityMaritime security is an umbrella term informed to classify issues in the maritime domain that are often related to national security, marine environment, economic development, and human security. This includes the world's oceans but also regional seas, territorial waters, rivers and ports, where seas act as a “stage for geopolitical power projection, interstate warfare or militarized disputes, as a source of specific threats such as piracy, or as a connector between states that enables various phenomena from c...
Military branchA military branch (also service branch or armed service) is a first level subdivision of the national armed forces of a state.
Regulatory agencyA regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous jurisdiction over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulating capacity. Examples of responsibilities include strengthening safety and standards, and/or to protect consumers in markets where there is a lack of effective competition. Examples of regulatory agencies that enforce standards include the Food and Drug Administration ...
International watersThe terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems (aquifers), and wetlands. "International waters" is not a defined term in international law. It is an informal term, which sometimes refers to waters beyond the "territorial sea" of any country. In other words, "intern...
Maritime lawMaritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private parties operating or using ocean-going ships. While each legal jurisdiction usually has its own legislation governing maritime matters, the international nature of the topic and the need for uniformity has, since 1900, led to considerable international maritime law de...*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.