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 firearms.

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.

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Post-9/11 Dragnet Turns Up Surprises
Ellen Nakashima Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400
In the six-and-a-half years that the U.S. government has been fingerprinting insurgents, detainees and ordinary people in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa, hundreds have turned out to share an unexpected background, FBI and military officials said. They have criminal arrest records in the United States.
Interview With Iranian Presidential Adviser Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi
Post Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:34:59 -0400
A transcript of correspondent Thomas Erdbrink's interview with Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, special adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on June 28 at the presidential building in Tehran.
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Post Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400


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News Releases

Four Picatinny Development Teams Receive 2007 Army Greatest Inventions Awards
Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:45:06 -0400
The Army honored four Picatinny weapons-development teams by presenting each a highly coveted top 10 Army Greatest Inventions of the Year Award for 2007 in Arlington, Va. June 12.
U.S. Army Completes Production of First Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon Prototype
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:39:03 -0400
The U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) Program successfully completed full prototype integration of the first FCS Manned Ground Vehicle (MGV) Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C). The Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon, which has the ability to rapidly deliver precision munitions in both urban and conventional battlespace is the lead prototype in the Army’s family of eight FCS Manned Ground Vehicles.
Army Upgrades Unclassified AKO Portal
Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:27:01 -0400
This article provides information to the reader on recent upgrades to the AKO unclassified portal. This, along with upgrades to the classified portal and the implementation of AKO Forward, is paving the way to Defense-wide network cetricity (DKO).

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Eisenhower warns us of the military industrial complex.