Military science

Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior,

along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized
coercive force1. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of
producing military capability in a manner consistent with national defense policy.
Military science serves to identify the strategic, political, economic,
psychological, social, operational, technological, and tactical elements
necessary to sustain relative advantage of military force; and to increase the
likelihood and favorable outcomes of victory in peace or during a war. Military
scientists include theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied
scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and other military personnel.

Military personnel obtain weapons, equipment, and training to achieve specific

strategic goals. Military science is also used to establish enemy capability as
part of technical intelligence.

In military history, military science had been used during the period of Industrial
Revolution as a general term to refer to all matters of military theory and
technology application as a single academic discipline, including that of the
deployment and employment of troops in peacetime or in battle.

In military education, military science is often the name of the department in the
education institution that administers officer candidate education. However, this
education usually focuses on the officer leadership training and basic
information about employment of military theories, concepts, methods and
systems, and graduates are not military scientists on completion of studies, but
rather junior military officers.

History

Even until the Second World War, military science was written in English
starting with capital letters, and was thought of as an academic discipline
alongside Physics, Philosophy and the Medical Science. In part this was due to
the general mystique that accompanied education in a World where as late as
the 1880s 75% of the European population was illiterate.[citation needed] The
ability by the officers to make complex calculations required for the equally
complex "evolutions" of the troop movements in linear warfare that increasingly
dominated the Renaissance and later history, and the introduction of the
gunpowder weapons into the equation of warfare only added to the veritable
arcana of building fortifications as it seemed to the average individual.

Until the early 19th century, one observer, a British veteran of the Napoleonic
Wars, Major John Mitchell thought that it seemed nothing much had changed
from the application of force on a battlefield since the days of the Greeks.[2] He
suggested that this was primarily so because as Clausewitz suggested, "unlike
in any other science or art, in war the object reacts".[3]

Until this time, and even after the Franco-Prussian War, military science
continued to be divided between the formal thinking of officers brought up in the
"shadow" of Napoleonic Wars and younger officers like Ardant du Picq who
tended to view fighting performance as rooted in the individual's and group
psychology[4] and suggested detailed analysis of this. This set in motion the
eventual fascination of the military organisations with application of quantitative
and qualitative research to their theories of combat; the attempt to translate
military thinking as philosophic concepts into concrete methods of combat.

Military implements, the supply of an army, its organization, tactics, and

discipline, have constituted the elements of military science in all ages; but
improvement in weapons and accoutrements appears to lead and control all the
rest.[5]

The breakthrough of sorts made by Clausewitz in suggesting eight principles on

which such methods can be based, in Europe, for the first time presented an
opportunity to largely remove the element of chance and error from command
decision making process.[6] At this time emphasis was made on the
Topography (including Trigonometry), Military art (Military science),[7] Military
history, Organisation of the Army in the field, Artillery and Science of Projectiles,
Field fortifications and Permanent fortifications, Military legislation, Military
administration and Manoeuvres.[8]

The military science on which the model of German combat operations was built
for the First World War remained largely unaltered from the Napoleonic model,
but took into the consideration the vast improvements in the firepower and the
ability to conduct "great battles of annihilation" through rapid concentration of
force, strategic mobility, and the maintenance of the strategic offensive[9] better
known as the Cult of the offensive. The key to this, and other modes of thinking
about war remained analysis of military history and attempts to derive tangible
lessons that could be replicated again with equal success on another battlefield
as a sort of bloody laboratory of military science. Few were bloodier than the
fields of the Western Front between 1914 and 1918. Fascinatingly the man who
probably understood Clausewitz better than most, Marshal Foch would initially
participate in events that nearly destroyed the French Army.[10]

It is not however true to say that military theorists and commanders were
suffering from some collective case of stupidity; quite the opposite is true. Their
analysis of military history convinced them that decisive and aggressive
strategic offensive was the only doctrine of victory, and feared that
overemphasis of firepower, and the resultant dependence on entrenchment
would make this all but impossible, and leading to the battlefield stagnant in
advantages of the defensive position, destroying troop morale and willingness
to fight.[11] Because only the offensive could bring victory, lack of it, and not the
firepower, was blamed for the defeat of the Imperial Russian Army in the
Russo-Japanese War. Foch thought that "In strategy as well as in tactics one
attacks".[12]

In many ways military science was born as a result of the experiences of the
Great War. "Military implements" had changed armies beyond recognition with
cavalry to virtually disappear in the next 20 years. The "supply of an army"
would become a science of logistics in the wake of massive armies, operations
and troops that could fire ammunition faster than it could be produced, for the
first time using vehicles that used the combustion engine, a watershed of
change.[13] Military "organization" would no longer be that of the linear warfare,
but assault teams, and battalions that were becoming multi-skilled with
introduction of machine gun and mortar, and for the first time forcing military
commanders to think not only in terms of rank and file, but force structure.

Tactics changed too, with infantry for the first time segregated from the horse-
mounted troops, and required to cooperate with tanks, aircraft and new artillery
tactics. Perception of military discipline too had changed. Morale, despite strict
disciplinarian attitudes, had cracked in all armies during the war, but best
performing troops were found to be those where emphasis on discipline had
been replaced with display of personal initiative and group cohesiveness such
as that found in the Australian Corps during the Hundred Days Offensive. The
military sciences' analysis of military history that had failed European
commanders was about to give way to a new military science, less conspicuous
in appearance, but more aligned to the processes of science of testing and
experimentation, the scientific method, and forever "wed" to the idea of the
superiority of technology on the battlefield.

Currently military science still means many things to different organisations. In

the United Kingdom and much of the European Union the approach is to relate
it closely to the civilian application and understanding. The Defence Scientific
Advisory Council sees this in terms of the fields of science, engineering,
technology and analysis (SETA) that includes broad strategic issues, priorities
and policies related to developing military capabilities.[14] In Europe, for
example Belgium's Royal Military Academy, military science remains an
academic discipline, and is studied alongside Social Sciences, including such
subjects as Humanitarian law. The United States Department of Defense
defines military science in terms of specific systems and operational
requirements, and include among other areas civil defense and force structure.

Employment of military skills

In the first instance military science is concerned with who will participate in
military operations, and what sets of skills and knowledge they will require to do
so effectively and somewhat ingeniously.

Military organization

Develops optimal methods for the administration and organization of military

units, as well as the military as a whole. In addition, this area studies other
associated aspects as mobilization/demobilization, and military government for
areas recently conquered (or liberated) from enemy control.

Force structuring

Force structuring is the method by which personnel and the weapons and
equipment they use are organized and trained for military operations, including
combat. Development of force structure in any country is based on strategic,
operational, and tactical needs of the national defense policy, the identified
threats to the country, and the technological capabilities of the threats and the
armed forces.

Force structure development is guided by doctrinal considerations of strategic,

operational and tactical deployment and employment of formations and units to
territories, areas and zones where they are expected to perform their missions
and tasks. Force structuring applies to all Armed Services, but not to their
supporting organizations such as those used for defense science research
activities.

In the United States force structure is guided by the table of organization and
equipment (TOE or TO&E). The TOE is a document published by the U.S.
Department of Defense which prescribes the organization, manning, and
equipage of units from divisional size and down, but also including the
headquarters of Corps and Armies.

Force structuring also provides information on the mission and capabilities of

specific units, as well as the unit's current status in terms of posture and
readiness. A general TOE is applicable to a type of unit (for instance, infantry)
rather than a specific unit (the 3rd Infantry Division). In this way, all units of the
same branch (such as Infantry) follow the same structural guidelines which
allows for more efficient financing, training, and employment of like units
operationally.

Military education and training

Studies the methodology and practices involved in training soldiers, NCOs (non-
commissioned officers, i.e. sergeants and corporals), and officers. It also
extends this to training small and large units, both individually and in concert
with one another for both the regular and reserve organizations. Military
training, especially for officers, also concerns itself with general education and
political indoctrination of the armed forces.

Military concepts and methods

Much of capability development depends on the concepts which guide use of

the armed forces and their weapons and equipment, and the methods
employed in any given theatre of war or combat environment.

Military history

Military activity has been a constant process over thousands of years, and the
essential tactics, strategy, and goals of military operations have been
unchanging throughout history. As an example, one notable maneuver is the
double envelopment, considered to be the consummate military maneuver, first
executed by Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE, and later by Khalid
ibn al-Walid at the Battle of Walaja in 633 CE.
Via the study of history, the military seeks to avoid past mistakes, and improve
upon its current performance by instilling an ability in commanders to perceive
historical parallels during battle, so as to capitalize on the lessons learned. The
main areas military history includes are the history of wars, battles, and
combats, history of the military art, and history of each specific military service.

Military strategy and doctrines

Military strategy is in many ways the centerpiece of military science. It studies

the specifics of planning for, and engaging in combat, and attempts to reduce
the many factors to a set of principles that govern all interactions of the field of
battle. In Europe these principles were first defined by Clausewitz in his
Principles of War. As such, it directs the planning and execution of battles,
operations, and wars as a whole. Two major systems prevail on the planet
today. Broadly speaking, these may be described as the "Western" system, and
the "Russian" system. Each system reflects and supports strengths and
weakness in the underlying society.

Modern Western military art is composed primarily of an amalgam of French,

German, British, and American systems. The Russian system borrows from
these systems as well, either through study, or personal observation in the form
of invasion (Napoleon's War of 1812, and The Great Patriotic War), and form a
unique product suited for the conditions practitioners of this system will
encounter. The system that is produced by the analysis provided by Military Art
is known as doctrine.

Western military doctrine relies heavily on technology, the use of a well-trained

and empowered NCO cadre, and superior information processing and
dissemination to provide a level of battlefield awareness that opponents cannot
match. Its advantages are extreme flexibility, extreme lethality, and a focus on
removing an opponent's C3I (command, communications, control, and
intelligence) to paralyze and incapacitate rather than destroying their combat
power directly (hopefully saving lives in the process). Its drawbacks are high
expense, a reliance on difficult-to-replace personnel, an enormous logistic train,
and a difficulty in operating without high technology assets if depleted or
destroyed.

Soviet military doctrine (and its descendants, in CIS countries) relies heavily on
masses of machinery and troops, a highly educated (albeit very small) officer
corps, and pre-planned missions. Its advantages are that it does not require
well educated troops, does not require a large logistic train, is under tight central
control, and does not rely on a sophisticated C3I system after the initiation of a
course of action. Its disadvantages are inflexibility, a reliance on the shock
effect of mass (with a resulting high cost in lives and material), and overall
inability to exploit unexpected success or respond to unexpected loss.

Chinese military doctrine is currently in a state of flux as the People's Liberation

Army is evaluating military trends of relevance to China. Chinese military
doctrine is influenced by a number of sources including an indigenous classical
military tradition characterized by strategists such as Sun Tzu, Western and
Soviet influences, as well as indigenous modern strategists such as Mao
Zedong. One distinctive characteristic of Chinese military science is that it
places emphasis on the relationship between the military and society as well as
viewing military force as merely one part of an overarching grand strategy.

Each system trains its officer corps in its philosophy regarding military art. The
differences in content and emphasis are illustrative. The United States Army
principles of war are defined in the U.S. Army Field Manual FM 100–5. The
Canadian Forces principles of war/military science are defined by Land Forces
Doctrine and Training System (LFDTS) to focus on principles of command,
principles of war, operational art and campaign planning, and scientific
principles.

Russian Federation armed forces derive their principles of war predominantly

from those developed during the existence of the Soviet Union. These, although
based significantly on the Second World War experience in conventional war
fighting, have been substantially modified since the introduction of the nuclear
arms into strategic considerations. The Soviet–Afghan War and the First and
Second Chechen Wars further modified the principles that Soviet theorists had
divided into the operational art and tactics. The very scientific approach to
military science thinking in the Soviet union had been perceived as overly rigid
at the tactical level, and had affected the training in the Russian Federation's
much reduced forces to instill greater professionalism and initiative in the
forces.

The military principles of war of the People's Liberation Army were loosely
based on those of the Soviet Union until the 1980s when a significant shift
begun to be seen in a more regionally-aware, and geographically-specific
strategic, operational and tactical thinking in all services. The PLA is currently
influenced by three doctrinal schools which both conflict and complement each
other: the People's war, the Regional war, and the Revolution in military affairs
that led to substantial increase in the defense spending and rate of
technological modernisation of the forces.

The differences in the specifics of Military art notwithstanding, Military science

strives to provide an integrated picture of the chaos of battle, and illuminate
basic insights that apply to all combatants, not just those who agree with your
formulation of the principles.

Military geography

Military geography encompasses much more than simple protestations to take

the high ground. Military geography studies the obvious, the geography of
theatres of war, but also the additional characteristics of politics, economics,
and other natural features of locations of likely conflict (the political "landscape",
for example). As an example, the Soviet–Afghan War was predicated on the
ability of the Soviet Union to not only successfully invade Afghanistan, but also
to militarily and politically flank the Islamic Republic of Iran simultaneously.

Military systems
How effectively and efficiently militaries accomplish their operations, missions
and tasks is closely related not only to the methods they use, but the equipment
and weapons they use.

Military intelligence

Military intelligence supports the combat commanders' decision making process

by providing intelligence analysis of available data from a wide range of
sources. To provide that informed analysis the commanders information
requirements are identified and input to a process of gathering, analysis,
protection, and dissemination of information about the operational environment,
hostile, friendly and neutral forces and the civilian population in an area of
combat operations, and broader area of interest. Intelligence activities are
conducted at all levels from tactical to strategic, in peacetime, the period of
transition to war, and during the war.

Most militaries maintain a military intelligence capability to provide analytical

and information collection personnel in both specialist units and from other arms
and services. Personnel selected for intelligence duties, whether specialist
intelligence officers and enlisted soldiers or non-specialist assigned to
intelligence may be selected for their analytical abilities and intelligence before
receiving formal training.

Military intelligence serves to identify the threat, and provide information on

understanding best methods and weapons to use in deterring or defeating it.

Military logistics

The art and science of planning and carrying out the movement and
maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those
aspects or military operations that deal with the design, development,
acquisition, storage, distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of
material; the movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel; the
acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation, and disposition of facilities;
and the acquisition or furnishing of services.

Military technology and equipment

Military technology is not just the study of various technologies and applicable
physical sciences used to increase military power. It may also extend to the
study of production methods of military equipment, and ways to improve
performance and reduce material and/or technological requirements for its
production. An example is the effort expended by Nazi Germany to produce
artificial rubbers and fuels to reduce or eliminate their dependence on imported
POL (petroleum, oil, and lubricants) and rubber supplies.

Military technology is unique only in its application, not in its use of basic
scientific and technological achievements. Because of the uniqueness of use,
military technological studies strive to incorporate evolutionary, as well as the
rare revolutionary technologies, into their proper place of military application.
Military and Society

This speciality examines the ways that military and society interact and shape
each other. The dynamic intersection where military and society meet is
influenced by trends in society and the security environment[15]. This field of
study can be linked to works by Clausewitz ("War is the continuation of politics
by other means"[16]) and Sun Tzu ("If not in the interest of the state, do not act"
[17]). The contemporary multi and interdisciplinary field traces its origin to World
War II and works by sociologists and political scientists. [18] This field of study
includes "all aspects of relations between armed forces, as a political, social
and economic institution, and the society, state or political ethnic movement of
which they are a part". [19] Topics often included within the purview of military
and society include: veterans, women in the military, military families, enlistment
and retention, reserve forces, military and religion [20], military privatization,
Civil-military relations[21], civil-military cooperation, military and popular culture,
military and the media, military and disaster assistance, military and the
environment and the blurring of military and police functions.

Recruitment and Retention

In an all volunteer military, the armed forces relies on market forces and careful
recruiting to fill its ranks. It is thus, very important to understand factors that
motivate enlistment and reenlistment. Service members must have the mental
and physical ability to meet the challenges of military service and adapt to the
military's values and culture.[22] Studies show that enlistment motivation
generally incorporates both self-interest (pay) and non-market values like
adventure, patriotism, and comradeship.[23][24][25]

International Military Sciences or Studies Associations

There are many international associations with the core purpose of bringing
scholars in the field of Military Science together. Some are inter-disciplinary and
have a broad scope, whilst others are confined and specialized focusing on
more specific disciplines or subjects. Some are integrated in larger scientific
communities like the International Sociological Association (ISA) and the
American Psychological Association (APA) where others have grown out of
military institutions or individuals who have had a particular interest in areas of
military science and are military, defense or armed forces oriented. Some of
these associations are:

American Psychological Association; Division 19: Society for Military

Psychology (APA-Div19)[26]
European Research Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS)[27]
Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society (IUS)[28]
International Congress on Soldiers Physical Performance (ICSPP) [29]
International Military Testing Association (IMTA)[30]
International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS)[31]
International Sociological Association; RC01 Armed Forces and Conflict
Resolution[32]
Military studies journals
The following are notable journals in the field:[33]

Armed Forces & Society

Contemporary Security Policy
Defense & Security Analysis
European Security
International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
International Peacekeeping
International Security
Joint Forces Quarterly
Journal of Strategic Studies
Military Psychology
Military Review
Nonproliferation Review
Orbis (journal)
Parameters (journal) Quarterly Journal of the US Army War College
Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies
Security Dialogue
Security Studies (journal)
Small Wars & Insurgencies
Survival (journal)
The Journal of Security Strategies
The RUSI Journal
The Washington Quarterly
University studies
Universities (or colleges) around the world also offer a degree(s) in military
science:

Belgium: Royal Military Academy (Belgium)- BA Social and Military Science; MA

Social and Military Science
France:
Sciences Po, Paris School of International Affairs - Master in International
Security.
New Zealand:
Massey University, Centre for Defence and Security Studies – BA in Defence
Studies.
Victoria University of Wellington – Centre for Strategic Studies – Master of
Strategic Studies (MSS).
Slovenia:
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Studies – BA, MA and PhD in Defence
studies; PhD in Military-Social Sciences
United Kingdom:
King's College London – MA in International Security and Strategy; MA,
MPhil/PhD in Defence Studies
University of Hull – MA in Strategy and International Security
United States:
United States Air Force Academy – Major in Military and Strategic Studies;
Minor in Nuclear Weapons and Strategy
United States Military Academy – Major in Defense and Strategic Studies
Missouri State University – Minor in Military Studies
Finland:
National Defence University – Bachelor, Master, and PhD in Military science
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Military Academy - (Bachelor and Masters degree in Military Studies)
Military traning school Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka
- https://www.google.com/search?
q=slma&oq=slma&aqs=chrome..69i57j0j5j0.7878j0j4&client=ms-android-
samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

See also

War portal
Military doctrine
Military theory
War
List of basic military science and technology topics
List of military inventions
List of military writers

Citations and notes

Jordan, 2013. p. 880.

p. 12, Gat
cf p. 12, Gat
p. 29, Gat
p. 194, Lodge
p. 12, Dupuy
taught by a Professor of Military Art at the Staff School in France, p. 248,
Barnard
p. 248, Barnard
p. 113, Gat
p. 15, Dupuy
p. 138, Gat
pp. 138–139, Gat
p. 50, Thompson
"Defence Scientific Advisory Council - GOV.UK". www.mod.uk.
Shields P.M. (2020) Dynamic Intersection of Military and Society. In:
Sookermany A. (eds) Handbook of Military Sciences. Springer, Cham.
doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_31-1
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_31-1
Clausewitz, C. V. (1984). On War (trans. and ed.: Howard, M., & Paret, P.).
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Tzu, The Art of War, XII.17
Shields P.M. (2020) Dynamic Intersection of Military and Society. In:
Sookermany A. (eds) Handbook of Military Sciences. Springer, Cham.
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_31-1
Forster, A. (2005). Armed forces and society in Europe. p. 9. Cham,
Switzerland: Springer.
 Levy Y. (2020) Military and Religion. In: Sookermany A. (eds) Handbook of
Military Sciences. Springer, Cham doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_32-1
Pion-Berlin D., Dudley D. (2020) Civil-Military Relations: What Is the State of
the Field. In: Sookermany A. (eds) Handbook of Military Sciences. Springer,
Cham doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_37-1
Shields P.M. (2020) Dynamic Intersection of Military and Society. In:
Sookermany A. (eds) Handbook of Military Sciences. Springer, Cham
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_31-1
Eighmey, J. (2006). Why do youth enlist?: Identification of underlying themes.
Armed Forces & Society, 32(2), 307–328.
Bury, P. (2017). Recruitment and retention in British Army reserve logistics
units. Armed Forces & Society, 43(4), 608–631.
Griffith, J. (2008). Institutional motives for serving in the U.S. Army National
Guard: Implications for recruitment, retention, and readiness. Armed Forces &
Society, 34(2), 230–258.
https://www.militarypsych.org
https://ergomas.ch
http://www.iusafs.org
http://www.icspp2020.ca
http://www.imta.info/Home.aspx
https://www.isofms.org
https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/research-networks/research-committees/rc01-
armed-forces-and-conflict-resolution/
"Google Scholar Metrics, Military Studies". Google. Retrieved 15 December
2012.
References
Barnard, Henry, Military Schools and Courses of Instruction in the Science and
Art of War in France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Sardinia,
England, and the United States, Part I – France and Prussia, J.B. Lippincott &
Co., Philadelphia, 1862
Dupuy, Trevor N., Understanding War: History and Theory of Combat, Leo
Cooper, London, 1992
Gat, Azar, The Development of Military Thought: The Nineteenth Century,
Oxford University Press, London, 1992
Jordan, Kelly C., "Military Science", in G. Kurt Piehler, ed. Encyclopedia of
Military Science, SAGE Reference, Volume, 2. pp. 880–885.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, (ed.), The North American Review, Making of America
Project, University of Northern Iowa, 1878
Muehlbauer, Matthew S., and David J. Ulbrich, eds. The Routledge History of
Global War and Society (2018) [1]
Muehlbauer, Matthew S., and David J. Ulbrich. Ways of War: American Military
History from the Colonial Era to the Twenty-First Century (2018) [2]
Shields Patricia M. (2020) Dynamic Intersection of Military and Society. In:
Sookermany A. (eds) Handbook of Military Sciences. Springer, Cham.
doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_31-1 ISBN 978-3-030-02866-4
Soeters, Joseph; Shields, Patricia and Rietjens, Sebastiaan. Routledge
Handbook of Research Methods in Military Studies New York: Routledge, 2014.
Sookermany A. (ed.) 2020 Handbook of Military Sciences. Springer, Cham.
doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4 ISBN 978-3-030-02866-4
Thompson, Julian, Lifeblood of war: Logistics in armed conflict, Brassey's
classics, London, 1991

Introduction to Naval Science

Naval History
Sea Power and Maritime Affairs
Naval Ships Systems I (Engineering)
Navigation I

Navigation II
Naval Architecture
Naval Operations
Naval Systems II (Weapons)

Leadership and Management I

Naval Operations I
Seapower & Maritime Affairs

http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/loccs/v