Today marks the 237th birthday of one of our nation's most treasured assets. The United States Army has over one million Soldiers serving in the active, guard, and reserve units - with 94,000 Soldiers deployed to 150 countries around the world.
To celebrate this anniversary, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe participated in the weeklong Army festivities.
Inhofe, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the co-chair of the Senate Army Caucus, co-hosted the annual Senate Army Caucus cake-cutting ceremony last night at the U.S. Capitol. Other attendees included U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, Secretary of the Army John McHugh,
General Lloyd Austin, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and over 200 Army and Congressional guests.
"Today we celebrate the 237th birthday of the U.S. Army and honor the dedication and selfless service of Army Soldiers, past and present, and their families," said Inhofe. "I remember the first time I personally celebrated an Army
birthday as a young Private, the 182nd, and I am as proud of the Army today as I was in 1957. During the course of our history, the Army has answered the call of duty and our nation's Soldiers have courageously sacrificed
their lives in defense of our nation and its people. I thank all who have served and are serving in our Army, especially our wounded warriors and Gold Star families for their sacrifices and service to this nation. We owe them a debt of
gratitude that can never be repaid."
"As far back as 1994, when I sat as a Member on the House Armed Services Committee, I remember an expert witness testifying that in 10 years time the United States would not need a land force. Times have shown that our
Army is relevant today as it has even been in any other time in our past. On this anniversary, I remain committed to ensuring that our Army has the best equipment in the world to accomplish their mission.
I wish our Army, our Soldiers and their families a very well deserved Happy Birthday," said Inhofe.
Dating back to 1775, the United States has depended on the Army to fight and win our nation's wars. As the oldest military service, the Army claims 178 campaign streamers in every conflict from Lexington to Afghanistan. Today,
the U.S. Army is the best trained and most experienced of all volunteer land force ever assembled.
