['< sod > modern u. s. ranks have their roots in british indian military traditions, with the president possessing ultimate authority, but no " rank ", maintaining a civilian status. as with european monarchies, the current position of the american us president as the nominal head of the armed forces is deeply rooted in traditions going back centuries. < eod > < sod > u. s. ranks have their roots in european british military traditions traditions, with the president possessing ultimate authority, but no " rank ", maintaining a civilian status. as with european monarchies, the position of the american president as the nominal { { clarification needed | reason = the european president is not a nominal head, the president always is the head } } head of the armed forces is deeply rooted only in european traditions going back centuries. { { citation needed | date = september 2016 } } < eod >']