It’s Armed Forces Day. How much do you know about our military?
Armed Forces Day, created in 1949 to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force days after the branches were unified under the Department of Defense, is May 19. The day was designed, in part, according to the DoD, “to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life.”
To aid this, the quiz below, prepared by the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University in Ohio, provides an opportunity for you to test how much you know about the history and background of the U.S. military.
1. The Army, Navy and Marine Corps were all established in what year?
A. 1783
B. 1846
C. 1775
D. 1812
2. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution does what?
A. Gives Congress the power to declare war.
B. Protects soldiers from unreasonable searches and seizures.
C. Designates the president as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
D. Gives Congress the power to provide and maintain a Navy.
3. The U.S. Coast Guard falls under what Cabinet department?
A. Department of Homeland Security
B. Department of Defense
C. Department of Transportation
D. Department of the Interior
4. The law that limits the government’s ability to use the military as a domestic police force is called what?
A. War Powers Act
B. Posse Comitatus Act
C. USA PATRIOT Act
D. National Emergencies Act
5. What was the first military service academy to open?
A. Naval Academy
B. Merchant Marine Academy
C. Air Force Academy
D. West Point
6. In which of the following wars was the draft not used?
A. Revolutionary War
B. Civil War
C. World War II
D. Iraq War
7. Congress overrode which U.S. president’s veto of the War Powers Act, which requires “the President in every possible instance ... consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities”?
A. Woodrow Wilson
B. Franklin D. Roosevelt
C. Richard Nixon
D. Bill Clinton
8. Federal law mandates what age as the maximum age to enlist in the military?
A. 42
B. 39
C. 28
D. 35
9. Roughly how many people have been awarded the Medal of Honor, “the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States”?
A. 1,500
B. 3,500
C. 7,000
D. 12,000
10. How many presidents were generals prior to taking office?
A. 18
B. 5
C. 9
D. 12
Answers: 1-C, 2-C, 3-A, 4-B, 5-D, 6-D, 7-C, 8-A, 9-B, 10-D
David Tucker is the director of faculty at the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio, and general editor of Ashbrook’s “Core Document Collections” of writings, speeches and documents that present America’s story. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 6:23 AM with the headline "It’s Armed Forces Day. How much do you know about our military?."