Deployments, moving, nights in the field, hardship tours - you know.
The Army is older than the United States. Once it became clear that a serious war was at hand, the Second Continental Congress authorized a Continental Army with a unified command structure, to be led by Major General George Washington. The measure passed on June 14, 1775, and is still celebrated as the Army’s birthday.
Soldiers who jump from airplanes wear Airborne wings. Those who rappel from helicopters wear Air Assault wings. Those who fly into space wear Astronaut wings. Colonel Douglas Wheelock wears all three. He logged 178 days in space after serving as the first active duty soldier to command the International Space Station. (In 2011, he deployed to Afghanistan, and has flown thirty-eight aerial combat missions.)
According to the Special Forces Command Public Affairs Office, in the last decade U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers have deployed to 135 of the 195 recognized countries in the world. Their nine principal tasks are unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter terrorism, information operations, counter proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and security force assistance.