The military is an arm of government authorised to use lethal force, and weapons, to support the

interests of the state and some or all of its citizens. The task of the military is usually defined as
defence of the state and its citizens, and the prosecution of war against another state. The military
may also have additional sanctioned and non-sanctioned functions within a society, including, the
promotion of a political agenda, protecting corporate economic interests, internal population control,
construction, emergency services, social ceremonies, and guarding important areas. The military
can also function as a discrete sub-culture within a larger civil society, through the development of
separate infrastructures, which may include housing, schools, utilities, food production and banking.

19th Century Oceania
warriors

20th Century
air force

21st Century Asia
sailors
The profession of soldiering as part of a military is older than recorded history itself. Some of the
most enduring images of the classical antiquity portray the power and feats of its military leaders.
The Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC was one of the defining points of Pharaoh Ramesses II's reign and
is celebrated in bas-relief on his monuments. A thousand years later the first emperor of unified
China, Qin Shi Huang, was so determined to impress the gods with his military might that he was
buried with an army of terracotta soldiers.
[1]
The Romans were dedicated to military matters, leaving
to posterity many treatises and writings as well as a large number of lavishly carved triumphal
arches and victory columns.

Warfare
History[show]
Battlespace[show]
Weapons[show]
Tactics[show]
Operational[show]
Strategy[show]
Grand strategy[show]
Organization[show]
Logistics[show]
Related[show]
Lists[show]
V
T
E
Contents
[hide]
1 Etymology and definitions
2 History
3 Organization
o 3.1 Command
o 3.2 Personnel
o 3.3 Intelligence
o 3.4 Economics
o 3.5 Capability development
o 3.6 Science
o 3.7 Logistics
o 3.8 Operations
o 3.9 Performance assessment
4 In combat
5 Technology
6 As part of society
o 6.1 Ideology and ethics
o 6.2 Antimilitarism
7 Stereotypes
o 7.1 In the media
8 Masculinity
o 8.1 Masculine emotional control
o 8.2 Masculinity in military women
o 8.3 Masculine language within the military
9 See also
10 References
11 Sources
12 External links
Etymology and definitions[edit]
The first recorded use of the word military in English, spelled militarie, was in 1585.
[2]
It comes from
the Latin militaris (from Latin miles meaning "soldier") but is of uncertain etymology, one suggestion
being derived from *mil-it- - going in a body or mass.
[3]
The word is now identified as denoting
someone that is skilled in use of weapons, or engaged in military service or in warfare.
[4][5]

As a noun the military usually refers generally to a country's armed forces or sometimes, more
specifically, to the senior officers who command them.
[4][5]
In general it refers to the physicality of
armed forces, their personnel, equipment, and physical area which they occupy.
As an adjective military originally referred only to soldiers and soldiering, but it soon broadened to
apply to land forces in general and anything to do with their profession.
[2]
The names of both
the Royal Military Academy (1741) and United States Military Academy (1802) reflect this. However,
at about the time of theNapoleonic Wars, "military" began to be used in reference to armed forces as
a whole
[2]
and in the 21st century expressions like "military service", "military intelligence" and
"military history" encompass naval, marine and air force aspects. As such, it now connotes any
activity performed by military personnel.
History[edit]
Main article: Military history

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Military history is often considered to be the history of all conflicts, not just the history of the state
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 military tradition which is used to create cohesive military forces. Still another may be to learn to
prevent wars more effectively. Human knowledge about the military is largely based on both
recorded and oral history of military conflicts (war), their participating armies and navies and, more
recently, air forces.
There are two types of military history, although almost all texts have elements of both: descriptive
history that serves to chronicle conflicts without offering any statements about the causes, nature of
conduct, the ending and effects of a conflict; and analytical history that seeks to offer statements
about the causes, nature, ending and aftermath of conflicts as a means of deriving knowledge and
understanding of conflicts as a whole, and prevent repetition of mistakes in future, to suggest better
concepts or methods in employing forces, or to advocate the need for new technology.
Organization[edit]
In the whole history of humanity, every nation had different needs for military forces. How these
needs are determined forms the basis of their composition, equipment and use of facilities. It also
determines what military does in terms of peacetime and wartime activities.
All militaries, whether large or small, are military organizations that have official state and world
recognition as such. Organizations with similar features areparamilitary, civil defense, militia or other
which are not military. These commonalities of the state's military define them.
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