The Army and the military are two different groups that are not to be confused with each other. The military is a powerful unit of the government that is tasked by society to utilize deadly force whenever necessary. It is, therefore, given weapons so that it will be able to defend the country by mitigating perceived and even actual threats to the security of the nation. By contrast, the Army is just a subset of the bigger military force. It is basically one of the many arms of the military with the rest (particularly in the U.S.) being the Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Air Force. Other nations have created other specialized military groups and task forces to help strengthen their overall military presence.
The term “army” is actually derived from the Latin word “armata” that means “armed force.” In its most general sense, the Army is described as the land-based unit of the state’s military force. It is practically obvious that the People’s Liberation Army of China is the biggest army today having more than 2.25 million active soldiers and 800,000 reserves. Being the most populous nation in the world with billions of inhabitants, China is undoubtedly the most powerful army in terms of numbers.
