military

A military is an organization authorized to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. As an adjective the term "military" is also used to refer to any property or aspect of a military. Militaries often function as societies within societies, by having their own military communities, economies, education, medicine and other aspects of a functioning civilian society.

The profession of soldiering as part of a military group 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. 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 columns.

In the modern era, world wars and countless other major conflicts have changed the employment of the militaries beyond recognition to their ancient participants. Empires have come and gone; states have grown and declined. Enormous social changes have been wrought, and military power continues to dominate international relations. The role of the military today is as central to global societies as it ever was.

This page is for quotations related to the armed forces and military matters.

Sourced

• "Don’t ask, don’t tell" does nothing but deprive the military of talent it needs and invade the privacy of gay service members just trying to do their jobs and live their lives. Political and military leaders who support the current law may believe that homosexual soldiers threaten unit cohesion and military readiness, but the real damage is caused by denying enlistment to patriotic Americans and wrenching qualified individuals out of effective military units. This does not serve the military or the nation well.
  • Stephen Benjamin, former U.S. Navy Petty Office 2nd Class
  • Quoted in "Don't Ask, Don't Translate", The New York Times, June 8, 2007

• Brauchler needs to realize that not every sailor is gay, and not every gay man wears loafers. Sometimes we wear combat boots and carry an M-16.
  • Stephen Benjamin
  • Quoted in "Fit for service? Please, don't ask", The Denver Post, July 25, 2007

From Wikiquote under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Sun Aug 29 22:02:17 2010