A military branch (also service branch or armed service) is a first level subdivision of the national armed forces of a state.
Types of branches
| Type | Role | Example (if atypical) |
|---|---|---|
| Air and space force | Air and space warfare | French Air and Space Force |
| Airborne forces | Paratrooper operations | Russian Airborne Forces |
| Air defense force | Air and missile defense | Egyptian Air Defense Forces |
| Air force | Aerial warfare | Georgian Air Force |
| Army | Ground warfare | Jamaican Army |
| Border guard | Border security | Vietnam Border Guard |
| Coast guard | Maritime security | United States Coast Guard |
| Command and control | Reconnaissance, Communication, Surveillance, Information warfare | People's Liberation Army Information Support Force |
| Cyber force | Cyberwarfare | Digital and Intelligence Service (Singapore) |
| Emergencies service | Disaster relief and emergency management | Military Emergencies Unit (Spain) |
| Engineering service | Military engineering | Construction and Engineering Forces (Mongolia) |
| Gendarmerie | Military and/or public policing | National Gendarmerie (France) |
| General Staff | Command and control | Strategic Command Operations (Venezuela) |
| Logistics service | Military logistics | Joint Support Service (Germany) |
| Marines | Naval land force | United States Marine Corps |
| Medical service | Medical service | Belgian Medical Service |
| Military police | Military law enforcement agency | Republic of China Military Police |
| Military reserve force | National reserve and auxiliary service | Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces |
| Navy | Naval warfare | Israeli Navy |
| Strategic rocket force | Operation of land-based strategic missiles | People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (China) |
| Royal/Presidential guard | Protection of royal families / presidential offices and ceremonial duties | Saudi Royal Guard Regiment / Republican Guard (Algeria) |
| Space force | Space warfare | United States Space Force |
| Special forces | Special operations | Polish Special Forces |
| Unmanned systems forces | Drone warfare | Unmanned Systems Forces (Ukraine) |
Unified armed forces
The Canadian Armed Forces is the unified armed forces of Canada. While it has three distinct commands – namely the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force – it remains a single military service.
NATO definition
Branch of service (also branch of military service or branch of armed service) refers, according to NATO standards, to a branch, employment of combined forces or parts of a service, below the level of service, military service, or armed service.
See also
- List of militaries by country
- Military organization