The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continuous identification with a single regiment, and to increase a soldier's probability of serving recurring assignments with his or her regiment. The USARS was intended to enhance combat effectiveness by providing the opportunity for a regimental affiliation, thus obtaining some of the benefits of the traditional regimental system.
Overview
USARS was developed to include the active Army (all combat, combat support (CS), combat service support (CSS), and special branches as well as appropriate training battalions) and the reserve components (the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve).
It was developed to offer the opportunity for long-term identification with a regiment or corps, provide the potential for recurring assignments within a regiment or corps, provide the opportunity to further emphasize the history, customs, and traditions of the regiment or corps, and provide regiments that are structured as one or more continental United States (CONUS) units of like type linked with one or more units of like type outside the continental United States (OCONUS), or one or more units of like type located exclusively in either CONUS or OCONUS, including one or more training battalions or tactical armored cavalry or ranger regiments.
USARS is also designed to provide for CS, CSS, and special branches to operate on a “whole branch” concept as a corps or special branch, carrying on the activities and traditions of a regiment, offer regimental affiliation to allow soldiers the opportunity for continuous identification with a combat arms regiment, a corps, or special branch throughout their careers. USARS provides (through regimental affiliation) different opportunities for soldiers, depending upon which combat arms regiment they choose to be affiliated with or whether they affiliate with a CS or CSS corps or special branch. In addition, the regimental affiliation process allows combat arms soldiers to select the regiment of choice (soldiers can change their affiliation at any time); provides that CS, CSS, and special branch soldiers will automatically be affiliated with their corps or special branch; specifies that all soldiers will belong to a regiment or corps; permits no limit to the number of soldiers who can be affiliated with a regiment or corps; and provides that DA civilians can automatically be affiliated with a regiment or corps by direction of the regiment or corps commander.
Combat arms
Concept
Combat arms is a rescinded doctrinal term, though colloquially it includes air defense artillery, armor, aviation, field artillery, infantry, and special forces regiments. Combat arms soldiers may affiliate with any of the combat arms regiments consistent with their primary military occupational specialty (PMOS), specialty code, special qualification identifiers (SQI), or additional skill identifiers (ASI). Soldiers will have greater opportunities to serve recurring assignments in their regiments if regiments are chosen that have battalions in both CONUS and OCONUS locations. Since there is no ceiling on the number of soldiers who can affiliate with a particular regiment, the potential for recurring assignments to regiments is diminished where the number of affiliated soldiers exceeds the requirements.
Affiliation policy
Quoting from Chapter 3–2, page 7 of Army Regulation 600-82, U.S. Army Regimental System (note: Currently the regulation for The U.S. Army Regimental System is Army Regulation 870-21):
a. USARS regiments offered to active Army and USAR soldiers for affiliation are listed [below].