CAVEAT: Some of the sites listed below are flawed. But they are the best online sources found for the given topics.

NOTE: Many entries listed separately are also listed in the "glossary."
 
 

Air Force

http://www.af.mil/sites/alphabetical.shtml

Air National Guard

See "National Guard."

Arlington National Cemetery

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/site_map.html

Also see "funerals."

Army

http://www.army.mil/A-Z.htm

associations

http://www.military.com/UnReg/Association

awards

badges -- http://www.amvets-ny.org/reference/badges_frameset.html

decorations (medals and ribbons) -- http://foxfall.com/

bases and other installations

http://military.com/InstallationGuides/ChooseInstallation/

Also see each service.

Central Command (Its area includes Afghanistan.)

http://www.centcom.mil/sitemap.asp
 
 

chief of Naval operations (similar to Army or Air Force chief of staff)

See "Joint Chiefs of Staff." (That link is more direct than the "Navy" link.)
 
 

Coast Guard (It belongs to the Transportation Department in peacetime.)

http://www.uscg.mil/

commandant of the Marine Corps (similar to Army or Air Force chief of staff)

See "Joint Chiefs of Staff." (That link is more direct than the "Marine Corps" link.)

contractors (links to selected manufacturers)

http://www.military.com/Resources/EQG/EQGmain?file=EG_sources
 
 

Defense Department Almanac

(agencies, budget, congressional committees, demographics, joint commands, leaders, ranks, statistics and top contractors)

http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/almanac/

Defense Department index

http://www.defenselink.mil/sites/

equipment

moderate length

http://www.defendamerica.mil/database.html#specialops

http://www.military.com/Resources/EQG/EQGmain?loc=QL

long (includes foreign military)

http://www.fas.org/man/index.html

Osprey (V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft)

http://directory.google.com/Top/Recreation/Aviation/Military/Airlifters/V-22_Osprey

Also see each service, "contractors," and "Missile Defense Agency."

foreign military

http://www.fas.org/man/index.html

Also see "history."

funerals

http://www.militaryfuneralhonors.osd.mil/intro.html

Also see "Arlington National Cemetery."
 
 
 
 

glossary

Click "thesaurus" at the Center for Army Lessons Learned. (Gives infomation on each service. Some entries are only links to other entries, but listings grow quickly.)

http://call.army.mil

Guantanamo Bay Naval installation (includes Afghanistan detainee mission)

http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/

history

capsules of U.S. conflicts

http://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmittedFileView?file=history_completelist.htm

concise world timeline

http://www.fluxeuropa.com/war/timeline.htm

homosexuals

http://dont.stanford.edu/

Joint Chiefs of Staff

http://www.dtic.mil/jcs/

legal system

See "Uniform Code of Military Justice."

Marine Corps

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/websites.nsf/unitsalpha
 
 

miscellaneous

See "glossary," "Defense Department Almanac" and "Defense Department index."

Also try searches through searchgov.com and searchmil.com.

Missile Defense Agency

http://www.acq.osd.mil/bmdo/

National Guard

http://www.ngb.dtic.mil/sitemap/index.shtml

Navy

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/.www/subject.html

Also see "Guantanamo Bay" and "Navy ranks and ratings."

Navy ranks and ratings

(The Navy has a system that combines enlisted ranks with job categories. The job categories also have insignia. The Air Force, Army and Marine Corps don't do this.)

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/allhands/ah0197/rankrate.html
 
 

nuclear policy review (aka nuclear posture review, January 2002)

http://defenselink.mil/faq/pis/nuclear.html

pay

http://militarypay.dtic.mil/actives/sitemap.html

pay chart -- http://militarypay.dtic.mil/actives/pay/bp/paytables/Jan2002.html

Pentagon (the building, in general and specifics related to Sept. 11)

http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pentagon/pentagoninfo.html

prisoners from Afghanistan

See "Guantanamo Bay."

ranks

http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/almanac/almanac/people/insignias/index.html

Also see "Navy ranks and ratings."
 
 

secretary of defense

http://www.defenselink.mil/osd/topleaders.html

Sept. 11 response

( If you get past the PR in the middle, you'll see useful general links and items specific to Sept. 11 and its aftermath. This includes background material, Central Command, each service, an equipment database and Homeland Security.)

http://www.defendamerica.mil/

Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act

http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/Relief_Act_Revision/index.html

stations (as in bases and other installations)

See "bases."

Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)

in legalese -- http:/ /www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm

basics in English -- http://usmilitary.about.com/library/weekly/aa091100a.htm

vehicles

See "equipment."

vessels

See "equipment."

Veterans Affairs

http://www.va.gov/General/site_map.htm

veterans groups

See "associations."
 
 

Compiled in March 2002 by Maurreen Skowran of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.