Military
A
military or
military force (
n., from
Latin militarius,
miles "soldier") has seen many different incarnations throughout time. Early armies were most likely men with sharpened sticks and rocks; through time they have included advancements such as men mounting
horses, men wielding
swords and other metallic
weapons, the
bow and
arrow,
siege weapons, the
stirrup, to the advance of the
musket which form the roots of the
armed forces of most nations we know today. In modern times people use motorized vehicles and s.
While
military can refer to any
armed force, it generally refers to a permanent, professional force of
soldiers or
guerrillas—trained exclusively for the purpose of
warfare and should be distinguished from a sanctioned
militia or a
levy, which are temporary forces— citizen soldiers with less training, who may be "called up" as a
reserve force, when a nation mobilizes for
total war, or to defend against
invasion. The term military is often used to mean an
army.
The doctrine that asserts the
primacy of a military within a society is called
militarism.
Also see: Armed forcesAs an
adjective, "military" is a descriptive property of things related to
soldiers and
warfare. It also refers to such context dependent terms such as
military reserves which may indicate an actual unit deployable on command or the general sense, of a
Nation States reserve troops available to or eligible for duty in its armed forces.
In formal
British English, "military" as an adjective
refers more particularly to matters relating to an army (
land forces), as opposed to the
naval and
air force matters of the other two services.
In
American English, "military" as an adjective is more widely used for regulations pertaining to and between military procurement,
military transport,
military justice,
military strength, and
military force.
Military procurement
Military procurement refers to common regulations and requirements for a ship or a detached unit to requisistion and draw on a base's facilies (housing, pay, and rations for detached personnel), supplies (most commonly food stocks or materials, and vehicles) by the service running a primary base; e.g. Army units detached to or staging through an
air base, a
vessel calling at a port near an army or air base, an army unit drawing supplies from a naval base.
Military transport
Military transport would pertain to an equipment trans-shipped via a sister service, or an individual detached for a technical school operated by a sister service, or the travel orders and authorization of such an individual to proceed via a sister services vehicles, as well as the drawing (loan of) transportation assets (
staff cars,
Hum-Vees,
military trucks) operating from the primary base command.
Military Justice
Military Justice, as in the
Uniform Code of Military Justice. Most nations have a separate
code of law which regulates both certain activities allowed only in war, as well as provides a code of law applicable only to a
soldier in war (or 'in
uniform' during peacetime).
The
statutory laws set down by the
United States Congress to apply to the
individual conduct within any
military force of the
United States— these are the specific articles under which a soldier or sailor would be tried for infractions ranging from minor (
Late Return,
petty theft) to severe (
Rape,
Murder); this code is usually referred to by the
acronym UCMJ.
Military strength
Military
strength is a term that describes a
quantification or reference to a nation's standing military forces or the capacity for fulfillment of that military's role. For example, the military strength of a given country could be interpreted as the number of individuals in its
armed forces, the destructive potential of its
arsenal, or both. For example, while
China and
India maintain the largest armed forces in the world, the
U.S. Military is considered to be the world's strongest, although the certainty of such a claim cannot be ascertained without a detailed analysis of opposing military forces in relation to one another as well as taking into account the field(s) of
battle and
tactics used in such a conflict.
Military Force
Military
Force is a term that might refer to a particular unit, a
regiment or
gunboat deployed in a particular locale, or as an aggregate of such forces (e.g. "In the
Gulf War the
United States Central Command controlled
military forces (units) of each of the five military services of the United States.").
Main article: Military history
Military history is often considered to be the
history of all
conflicts, not just the history of proper militaries. It differs somewhat from the
history of war with military history focusing on the people and institutions of war-making while the history of war focuses on the evolution of war itself in the face of changing technology, governments, and geography.
Military history has a number of purposes. One main purpose is to learn from past accomplishments and mistakes so as to more effectively wage war in the future. Another is to create a sense of tradition which is used to create cohesive military forces. Still another may be to learn to prevent wars more effectively.
Main article: Military reserve
Military reserve refers to specific trained pre-organized forces operating as an on call basis from the main military force.
In the
United States, the Reserves forces such as the qunit mission profile (e.g. Many 'Military Police' trained
regular reserve units and '
National Guard units' were mobilized during the
Iraq war, as were units specializing in supply, transport, engineering, et al.) These various volunteer manned units are always 'on call' and referred to as
the ready reserves but might be augmented by the
Inactive Reserves in time of dire emergency or total war under the United States model— the inactive reserve is composed of all former serving members of any of the U.S. Armed Forces of military age. Individuals in this class are former members of the regular and ready reserve forces, that have opted to discontinue service in any of those organized bodys; in general, the inactive reserves are not an organized force, but a resource of trained manpower that can be mobilized similar to calling up a levy but in theory with the training of a militia. Individuals in the inactive reserves with specialized talents are from time to time also recalled into service, albeit rarely.
Main article: Military science
Military science concerns itself with the study and of the diverse technical, psychological, and practical phenomena that encompass the events that make up
warfare, especially armed combat. It strives to be an all-encompassing
scientific system that if properly employed, will greatly enhance the practitioner's ability to prevail in an armed conflict with any adversary.
:''Main article:
Militarism*
Australian Defence Force**
Royal Australian Air Force**
Australian Army**
Royal Australian Navy*
Armed forces of the Crown**
Royal Navy**
British Army**
Royal Air Force**
Royal Marines**
Special Air Service**
Special Boat Service**
Special Reconnaissance Regiment*
Military of France*
Canadian Armed Forces**
Canadian Army**
Royal Canadian Air Force**
Royal Canadian Navy*
Military of Germany*
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation**
Russian Army**
Russian Navy**
Russian Air Force*
Military of Greece**
Hellenic Army**
Hellenic Air Force**
Hellenic Coast Guard**
Greek Navy*
Military of India**
Indian Army**
Indian Air Force**
Indian Navy**
Indian Coast Guard**
Indian Paramilitary Forces**
Strategic Nuclear Command*
Military of New Zealand**
Royal New Zealand Navy**
New Zealand Army**
Royal New Zealand Air Force**
Special Air Service of New Zealand*
Military of North Korea*
Military of the People's Republic of China**
Army**
Airforce**
Navy**
People's Armed Police*
Military of Singapore*
Military of South Korea*
Military of Sri Lanka*
Military of Switzerland*
Military of Syria*
Turkish Armed Forces**
Army**
Air Force**
Navy**
Gendarmerie**
Coast Guard*
Military of the United States**
Army**
Air Force**
Marine Corps**
Navy**
Coast GuardSee also
:Category:Military by country.
Military Alliances
*
NATO*
ANZUS*
Warsaw Pact (Now defunct)
*
Comparative military ranks*
Military unit*
Jane's Information Group provides contemporary info on
Trade in Military Equipment.
*
Martial art*
Militaria*
Military rule*
Special Air Service*
Stratfor provides analysis of geopolitics.
*
Army*
List of countries by military expenditures*
List of countries by number of active troops*
List of countries by size of armed forces*
List of countries without an armyMajor books for understanding the role of the military, and the civilian leadership of the military.
#
Why the Allies Won (
WWII) by
Richard Overy ISBN 0-393-03925-0## Many books about
WWII, and other wars, focus on the military battles and campaigns. This one focuses on support roles that gave the
Allies the edge when the
Axis seemed to be ahead in so many senses.##
Russia relocated their industry far from the front.## There was a structure of
Scientific Management in the U.S.A., unheard of in the
Axis Powers.##
Axis nations military, particularly in
Japan, had an adversarial relationship that was more important to them than the best interests of their nations.##
Allied interception of coded radio signals, and strict secrecy of what they learned from this.##
Allied sophisticated deception.### Misleading
Germany about the
Normandy invasion.### Commando raids were exceptionally successful, such as in figuring out how
German Radar functioned, so as to get the correct dimensions for
Chaff to
Spoof it, but they were trumpeted as failures so as not to tip off
German Military Intelligence about the purpose of the raids.## In
Nazi Germany no reputable
Aryan wanted to have anything to do with science that had been invented by a Jew. This is one reason why
Hitler never developed the
Atomic Bomb.#
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Pentagon by
"Jeff Cateau" and
Michael Levin. An entertaining explanation of the U.S. military and how it is run.#
Get Yamamoto by Burke Davis, Published by Random House in 1969. During WW II, the U.S.A. intercepted top secret communications about a tour of forward bases to be conducted by Admiral
Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Navy. This led to a successful mission to intercept his flight and kill him, the theory being that the Japanese would be handicapped without his leadership.
Periodicals
*
Aviation Week and Space Technology*
Defense News*
Jane's Defense WeeklyExternal links
*
Combat Films and Research - Documentaries and stories about combat across the globe.
*
Beyond the Border - Documentaries produced by
Combat Films and television shows on the subject.
*
China Defence Today forum *
Military News - Dod Blog releasing casualties in Iraq and current military contracts.
*
isayeret.com - The Israeli Special Forces Database*
U.S. Army Ranger Association United States Army Ranger Association
