HAPPY 235th BIRTHDAY UNITED STATES ARMY

The Soldier’s Creed

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior an a member of a team.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

For those of you who are able, hoist a few in memory of our fallen comrades and those yet to return from Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, or wherever they are deployed.

Two hundred and thirty-five years ago, the United States Army was established to fight and win our nation’s wars.
Since 1775, Still the best!

A message from Sergeant Major of the Army, Kenneth O. Preston:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYfsVOEy0U&feature=]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYfsVOEy0U&feature=

Message from the Secretary of the Army, John McHugh
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvczyl7D3Dg&feature=]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvczyl7D3Dg&feature=

Message from General Casey:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgJlYFdSp9c]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgJlYFdSp9c

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 8, 2010) — When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, the original 13 colonies did not have a shared army, but instead, a collection of independent colonial militias.

The first battles of that war were fought April 19, 1775 in Middlesex County, Mass., by patriots of the Massachusetts militia. They were the Battles of Lexington and Concord — the first hostilities between the colonies and Great Britain.

Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and as British troops moved back across Massachusetts toward Boston, colonial militia from around New England began massing around that city. Within days, thousands of militia members under the leadership of Artemas Ward of Massachusetts had Boston under siege.

By May 10, just weeks after hostilities began in Massachusetts, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. On the agenda: creating a common army to defend the colonies.

A month later, on June 14, the Congress approved the creation of that army — the Continental Army. The new force was made of those militiamen already gathered outside Boston — some 22,000 of them — plus those in New York, about 5,000.

The following day, the 15th, the Congress named Virginian George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and named Ward his second in command the following day.

The Congress also resolved to form a committee “to bring in a draft of rules and regulations for the government of the Army,” and voted $2 million to support the forces around Boston, and those in New York City.

Congress authorized the formation of 10 companies of expert riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, which were directed to march to Boston to support the New England militia. These were the first troops Congress agreed to pay from its own funds, and the units later became the 1st Continental Regiment.

http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/06/09/40562-continental-congress-authorizes-army/index.html

Message from leaders:
235th-Army-Bday

http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/06/10/40671-celebrating-the-army-birthday/index.html

More here: http://www.army.mil/birthday/235/