Governor Stein Proclaims Birthday of the United States Army

Birthday Of The United States Army

2026

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, on June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress established a Continental Army to secure the common defense of the original 13 colonies during the War for Independence; and 

Whereas, the North Carolina Council of Safety deployed Patriot troops to intercept and defeat Loyalist forces at Moore Creek’s Bridge in February 1776; and 

Whereas, during World War I, the United States Regular Army was restructured to include 286,000 regular servicemembers, 450,000 National Guard service members, and a 500,000-person National Army; and 

Whereas, Fort Bragg was established in 1918 as a 300-square-mile training center for 16,000 soldiers; by World War Il, it was the largest post in the Army, housing approximately 60,000 soldiers; and 

Whereas, today Fort Bragg, encompassing more than 172,000 acres and two airfields, remains the largest United States Army installation in population and is home to the Airborne, Special Operations Forces, and more than 260,000 active-duty soldiers, reserve components, temporary duty students and military trainees, federal civilian employees and contractors, active-duty family members, and Army retirees and their families; and 

Whereas, the impact of the Army across North Carolina extends beyond Fort Bragg through the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District, the Army Research Office in Durham, the National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, and the Army Reserve 108th Training Command in Charlotte; and 

Whereas, the men and women who serve proudly as soldiers of the United States Army, and the families who support them, make great sacrifices to defend our freedoms; and 

Whereas, our state has a proud tradition of supporting all U.S. Armed Forces in their mission to defend our principles of liberty and freedom;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim June 14, 2026, as “Birthday Of The United States Army” in North Carolina and commend its observance to all residents.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-sixth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-sixth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.