The history books can all agree on one thing—people tend to fight, and nations tend to go to war.  That’s not to say that that’s a good or bad thing.  It just is.  People have fought over religion, property, culture, economics—you name it.  This has led to the creation of huge militaries, specifically designed for the specific use of force.  These militaries have shaped world history as we know it, and are continuing to do so.

 

Over the past century, the United States military has become the largest and most powerful in the world.  It is broken up into five branches (the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard), and costs about $400 billion per year to operate.  That figure is nearly half of the amount spent to fund all of the militaries in the entire world. 

 

Where does all of that money go?  For starters, over 1,000,000 active soldiers have to get their paycheck every month.  Money is also needed for uniforms, food, housing, supplies, weapons, and equipment.  Keep in mind that stealth bombers, global positioning systems, self-navigating missiles, and aircraft carriers are not cheap.

 

On September 11, 2001, the United States became the victim to the worst terrorist attack in its history.  Since that time, the military has been called upon to fight a war on terror in Afghanistan, and to unseat Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Needless to say, this has not resulted in a reduction in size, cost, or overall military might.  If history is any indicator, the military will continue to get stronger and more advanced with each generation.

 

When did it all start?  Human beings have certainly been fighting since the Old Stone Age (over 750,000 years ago)—but they didn’t have militaries.  That happened in Mesopotamia, specifically in the city-state of Sumer.  Around 3000 BC, the Sumerians developed the first infantry group, known as a “phalanx.”  The phalanx consisted of several soldiers marching in a block formation, each carrying a spear or sword as a weapon. 

 

The phalanx army later became the weapon of choice for Alexander the Great.  The legendary Greek conqueror formed the huge Macedonian phalanx around 330 BC, overtaking huge portions of the Middle East and Asia in less than a decade.

 

Anyone who has seen any war movies probably knows that modern soldiers don’t fight in the close block formation of the ancient armies (though that technique is often used by policemen to control riots).  The Romans changed the rules of warfare.  They formed the seemingly invincible Roman legions, each containing over 5,000 infantry soldiers.  The legions then set out from Rome and conquered virtually all of Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa.

 

Fighting techniques continued to improve through the generations.  The Knights of the Middle Ages, for example, demonstrated how effective cavalry troops could be on horseback.    This later evolved into cavalry troops traveling in tanks instead of on horses.    Strategic changes had to be made to account for new technology (i.e. telephones, computers, etc.) and equipment (i.e. tanks, airplanes, submarines, etc.).

 

Nothing, however, compares to changes in weaponry.  Spears, knives, and bows and arrows have been replaced by guns, cannons, and missiles.  Today’s militaries—and civilians—have to deal with the threat of weapons of mass destruction.  These include nuclear bombs, chemical weapons, and even lethal viruses.