ABSTRACT
The United States is somewhat isolated from its adversaries and friends and thus sometimes needs to project power far from its shores. It has four large and rivalrous armed services- the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps- and at least two other institutions that also get involved abroad, the Coast Guard and US Special Operations Command. This chapter examines the internal politics of the services, inter-service relations, and the contradictions and dangers posed by the rise of jointness, the religion and the reality. There is little mystery about what makes the US Air Force tick: strategic attack. Differences among the services help make the organizations what they are, contribute to their unique capabilities, and build emotional and political support for them among American servicemen, veterans, and civilians. But critics worry that separate service identities promote needless conflict that disrupts American defense planning and military operations, so reformers call for jointness.
