Military branch

Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard the subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state.

Branches

Classical branches

In classical NATO terminology, the three basic environmental commands military branches are the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

• 
  Army
• 
  Air Force
• 
  Navy

Specialized branches

Countries which do not have access to any of the brown water, green water, blue water or any oceans generally do not have a national navy.

In some countries there might be other military branches. In addition to the above-mentioned military branches, examples are:

• In Argentina the National Gendarmerie and the Naval Prefecture
• In China the Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force
• In France the National Gendarmerie and the National Guard
• In Germany the Joint Medical Service, the Joint Support Service and the Cyber and Information Space Command
• In Italy the Carabinieri
• In Norway the Home Guard and the Cyber Defence Force
• In Poland the Special Forces
• In Russia the Airborne Troops and the Strategic Missile Troops
• In South Africa the Military Health Service
• In South Korea the Marine Corps
• In Taiwan the Military Police
• In the United States the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard

Emblems of some countries

• 
  Italy
  Carabinieri
• 
  Norway
  Home Guard
• 
  Poland
  Special Forces
• 
  Russia
  Airborne Troops
• 
  Russia
  Strategic Missile Troops
• 
  Republic of Korea (South Korea)
  Marine Corps
• 
  Republic of China (Taiwan)
  Military Police
• 
  United States
  Coast Guard
• 
  United States
  Marine Corps

Historical development

The military branches came into being in line with military technical progress and have been developed permanently. With that background, the air force was established early in the 20th century as one of the latest armed service.

The army is traditionally the oldest – and in many countries the biggest armed service.

Unified forces

The Canadian Armed Forces is the unified armed forces of Canada. While it has three environmental commands - namely Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force - it remains a single military service.

NATO definition

Branch of service (also branch of military service or branch of armed service) refers, according to NATO standards, to a branch, employment of combined forces or parts of a service, below the level of service, military serviced or armed service.