Main Page/Intro
US Military teams have existed on and off since the 1919 Allied games held after WWI. Servicemen have played in the 1920 Olympics and with a variety of teams until the late 1960's when base level teams began to organize. They were fueled by the service academies who have had rugby history dating from the 60's, but it was not until the formal organization of USA Rugby in 1974 that there began a concerted effort to support military teams. That administrative initiative evolved to allow the organization of the Combined Services Committee of USA Rugby in the late 1970's. Only a few years later we saw the formation of the first Combined Services team, and quickly thereafter, service teams and intraservice championships. The US Combined Services Committee guided the growth in the decades that followed and spearheaded the objective of making rugby an official DoD sport. When that happened in 2000, the CS committee was superseded by the Armed Forces Sports Council and in a few years USA Rugby formally dissolved the Combined Services Committee as a function of our National Governing Body. Effective in 2012, The Armed Forces Sports Council voted to switch to 7's format from 15's. The addition of 7's to the Olympics provided the justification, as well as easier funding of 7s vs 15s teams. The five Service rugby directors, who previously comprised the permanent CS committee members, continue to lead collaboration on behalf of their respective players under the authority of their respective Service sports offices for all formal military rugby events. Rugby competition is always fierce, especially between services, yet the sense of after match brotherhood has always been stronger among our military teams.
The official Armed Forces Rugby website is: http://armedforcessports.defense.gov/Sports/Rugby.aspx
Click here to go to the sites for the -> service academies
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