Military Information

The US Military Services offer students opportunities for those interested in serving our nation. Students may enlist in one of the branches upon graduating from high school learning job skills and providing many career opportunities as well as personal and educational benefits. Those who wish to get a college degree and become an officer may apply to one of the service academies or to a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program at a college or university.


Spring 2021 Virtual Military Information Sessions: click here to access the videos and information


Service Branches

  • The Air Force is part of the Department of Defense (DOD). It’s responsible for aerial military operations, defending U.S. air bases, and building landing strips. Service members are known as airmen. The reserve components are Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

  • The Army is part of the DOD and is the largest of the five military branches. It handles major ground combat missions, especially operations that are ongoing. The Army Special Forces unit is known as the Green Berets for its headgear. Service members are known as soldiers. The reserve components are Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

  • The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It’s responsible for maritime law enforcement, including drug smuggling. It manages maritime search and rescue and marine environmental protection. It also secures ports, waterways, and the coasts. Service members are known as Coast Guardsmen, nicknamed Coasties. The reserve component is Coast Guard Reserve.

  • The Marine Corps is part of the DOD. It provides land combat, sea-based, and air-ground operations support for the other branches during a mission. This branch also guards U.S. embassies around the world and the classified documents in those buildings. Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) members are known as Raiders. All service members are referred to as Marines. The reserve component is Marine Corps Reserve.

  • The Navy is part of the DOD. It protects waterways (sea and ocean) outside of the Coast Guard’s jurisdiction. Navy warships provide the runways for aircraft to land and take off when at sea. Navy SEALs (sea, air, and land) are the special operations force for this branch. All service members are known as sailors. The reserve component is Navy Reserve.

  • The Space Force is a new service, created in December 2019 from the former Air Force Space Command. The Space Force falls within the Department of the Air Force. It organizes, trains, and equips space forces to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force.



National Guard Information

The National Guard is unique among the U.S. armed forces in that it can perform state as well as federal functions. The Guard is generally called up to respond to state-level emergencies, such as natural disasters. But, unlike most of the other military forces, it can also serve a domestic law enforcement role. Additionally, it can serve missions overseas, which it has done more frequently in recent years.



ROTC Information:

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is a college program offered at more than 1,700 colleges and universities across the United States that prepares young adults to become officers in the U.S. Military. In exchange for a paid college education and a guaranteed post-college career, participants, or cadets, commit to serve in the Military after graduation. For more information, visit the websites below:



Service Academies



ASVAB Career Exploration Program (CEP): Each year, FLHS offers the ASVAB assessment to students in grades 11 and 12. The ASVAB CEP, sponsored by our Department of Defense, is a public service provided to our nation’s schools at no cost and no obligation. The ASVAB, the world’s most widely used aptitude battery, consists of 10 subtests that yield three Career Exploration Scores (Verbal Skills, Math Skills, and Science and Technical Skills). These three scores, combined with the results of an interest inventory, will assist your child when exploring a wide variety of educational and career options. After the ASVAB test, students will receive Exploring Careers: The ASVAB Career Exploration Guide with their test results. Students will have the opportunity to attend a post-test interpretation a few weeks after the test. To learn more about the student benefits of ASVAB CEP participation, click here.