Early Warfare

One of the earliest examples of warfare found in the archeological record took place in the riparian valley of the Kingdom of Sumer, in what is now the Middle East. Ancient Greeks called this region Mesopotamia, meaning “the land between two rivers,” and this ecological position is the key to understanding why wars have been fought for control of this region for thousands of years.

The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow from the high terrain in what is now eastern Turkey through the states of Syria and Iraq, and from there to the Persian Gulf. Each year, snow melting from the mountains creates in the valley a rich, loamy soil. Historians aren’t certain when desert nomads first discovered the Mesopotamian valley, but it must have seemed an oasis in the midst of the harsh and unforgiving desert landscape that surrounds it. The nomadic bands that settled there ultimately gave rise to the Sumerian civilization, one of the most famous in the history of Western civilization, and their innovations fueled the rise of societies throughout Europe. The Sumerians conquered dry summers with irrigation, and their civilization grew in size and complexity, producing a thriving market-driven culture and one of the earliest forms of written language, “cuneiform,” which began as financial records scrawled on clay tablets.¹

By around 4000 BCE, the Sumerian civilization had given rise to possibly the world’s first urban environment, sprawling residential areas connected by shared irrigation and sewage systems bound together by communal markets and a broad network of trade and commerce. Ultimately, there were 14 Sumerian city-states, and as these evolved, tensions began to emerge. Archaeologists found evidence of massive city-state warfare between 3000 and 2334 BCE, fought over territorial borders and access to essential resources.

Fighting continued for years, as warlords competed for control and faced foreign threats, the greatest being the Kingdom of Elam. Historians believe that Sumerians and Elamites fought each other beginning in the Neolithic period, but the first recorded war took place in 2700 when the Sumerian King Mebaragesi waged war against the Elamites, taking from them a vast store of weapons and technology. The war took place in what is now the city of Basra, near the salt marshes that are still found throughout the region. This period of warring states ended in 2334, when Sumerian King Sargon the Great united the city-states into a single empire that featured a new, centralized form of government and one of the earliest imperial armies on record.²

The Sumerian kingdom occupied what is now Iran, while the Elamites occupied what is now Iraq. This was, then, the first of many Iran-Iraq wars, fueled by access to resources. In the twenty-first century, the Fertile Valley is contested largely because of its vast deposits of fossil fuels—the basis of the modern economy and among the most precious resources on earth.

The What and Why of the Military

As with Sumer and Elam, the way that societies grow is dictated by the location and availability of resources. New cultures tend to be established near lakes, rivers, or coastlines. Many US “mining towns” were established in areas close to precious metals, stone, or other subterranean treasures.

As societies grow, and the need for resources increases, people often stockpile resources and ensure that they control sufficient territory to maintain the flow of resources. There have been many wars over access to rivers, lakes, and coastal territories, as well as over gold and silver, spices, beautiful flowers, even bat feces. In the modern world, wars are often fought over fossil fuels.

Armies of Purpose

On its most basic level, a nation’s military is comprised of individuals brought together to defend a society. Individuals within a military are not always members of a professional military force, and many nations, including the United States, can require civilians to serve. Through the US Selective Service system, all male citizens who reach the age of majority must register for military service, and the government reserves the right to force citizens into service.

Many nations throughout history bolstered their military power by exploiting slaves as soldiers, often considering slaves’ lives of little value. In some ancient societies the vast majority of soldiers were slaves, though officers tended to be citizens or slaves who were afforded privileges in return for controlling their fellow slaves.³

Whether citizens or slaves, volunteers or unwilling conscripts, armies serve at the behest of military leaders. Although a nation’s military is meant to serve the interests of a society, governments sometimes act in ways that are contrary to the will of the majority. Whether or not to engage in military action is typically not decided by the people but by powerful elites, who may use a nation’s military to increase their own power, the power of their political faction, or the wealth and power of an elite class.⁴ It is rare that warfare is undertaken for the good of the masses and even more rare that it benefits the working class.

However, the establishment often propagandizes military action to mislead the citizenry into believing that warfare will bring them prosperity. To reduce civil resistance to the inevitable sacrifices in the year leading up to World War I, President Woodrow Wilson’s administration created a massive multi-million-dollar propaganda campaign that produced films, comic strips, novels, posters and other material designed to make Americans believe that fighting in the war was patriotic and opposing the war was anti-American, even traitorous.

Warfare, however, can certainly be managed for the benefit of society if the military is controlled by individuals dedicated to peace and the public welfare. There are many well-documented instances in which soldiers and officers have made great sacrifices for their nation and many storied tales of military heroics stretching back to the beginning of recorded history. World War II, for example, saved the lives of millions who would otherwise have been killed in the German and Axis occupations.

Protesting War

One of the most common criticisms of warfare is that societies waging war tend to exploit the poor and marginalized, while the elite class are primary beneficiaries. While warfare might benefit a society, over the longer term, the cost of war, and the risk, is borne primarily by the poor.

Soldiers doing the actual fighting tend to come from the working class and the poor. Citizens in most nations are more likely to question the ethics of their politicians than the virtues of their soldiers, and there is considerable social pressure in many societies, including in the United States, to afford soldiers a level of recognition for their sacrifices. A nation’s greatest military leaders are often considered cultural heroes and, in the United States, many high-ranking politicians got their start as military heroes during times of war.

In nations that have a volunteer military, citizens are encouraged, or pressured, to believe that supporting the nation’s military is patriotic and not supporting the military is unpatriotic. However, an individual can be patriotic and still refuse to support the nation’s military if, for example, they believe that the military is used in a way that does not benefit society or the world, or they believe in pacifism due to spiritual or intellectual reasons and refuse to take part in violence of any kind.

Some Americans argue that patriotism means supporting their country “right or wrong,” but this has little moral value. Consider, for instance, a German soldier during World War II who supported the Nazi Party out of this belief and therefore supporting the genocide of European Jews and a dictatorial, fascist regime that killed millions.

The American Military Establishment

The American military grew out of the militias that were established in the colonies, nonprofessional organizations often made up of convicts, the poor, and slaves. As the colonies grew larger and more powerful, state militias became better organized. When elite members of the colonies began the war for independence, untrained militias formed the first territorial armies. The militias barely won the Revolutionary War and it became clear that a more organized military establishment was necessary. Although citizens feared the establishment of a strong, centralized military as a tool of oppressive governments, the threat of foreign invasion and indigenous insurrection eventually stimulated enough public support for a centralized military. This institution grew and diversified in the lead-up to the Civil War, when US soldiers were called upon to back the elected government against insurrectionists defending their perceived right to exploit African slaves. The Civil War was the tipping point for the US military, after which military growth proceeded rapidly.

Over the decades, the American military has engaged in hundreds of small- and large-scale engagements. Internationally, it was called upon to defend against attempted invasion, when Britain tried to reclaim control over their former colony in the early 1800s. On the national stage, the American military turned the tide in World War I in favor of the Allies, and helped to liberate Europe from the Nazi Party during the Second World War. With each new conflict, the US military grew larger and more powerful. New technology drove the evolution of the military, and increasing military power became a focus of American conservatism. By the end of the twentieth century, the United States possessed the most powerful military in the world and, along with several other economically powerful nations, harnessed the technological capability to destroy all life on earth.

From militias to a national military, the US military expanded into six branches, each in charge of a different aspect of military activity but still with significant overlap: Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Space Force.

The US Army was the first branch of the US military, established in June 1776. Primarily a land-based branch, it also has some air-combat divisions and a small marine force known as the “Army Mariners.” In addition, the Army has a few special divisions established to manage specialized combat situations, including the US Army Rangers and the Night Stalkers, a nocturnal combat division.

The US Navy was established in October 1776 and is in charge of protecting the United States using nautical combat. The Navy also has a large variety of special divisions handling different aspects of combat, and manages a fleet of aircraft carriers under their aerial branch. Their special divisions include Sea, Air, and Land Forces (NAVY SEALs), which are considered elite specialist groups.

The US Marine Corps was also established in 1776, originally envisioned as a branch that would manage amphibious military operations, bridging the gap between land and sea forces. In 1834, the US Marines became part of the Navy, though remaining a semi-autonomous branch.

The US Coast Guard is unique among the branches of the military as both a branch of the military establishment and a domestic law-enforcement agency. It was established in August 1790 when Congress authorized the establishment of ten vessels to enforce trade laws and to combat smuggling. In 1939, the Coast Guard was placed in charge of Lighthouse Service, and thus manages America’s maritime navigation system in addition to guarding against piracy, and enforcing tariff laws. In 2003, the Coast Guard was placed under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security, thus existing as both a branch of both the domestic security establishment and the US armed forces.

The US Air Force was established during World War I, as the Aeronautical Division of the US Army. A major restructuring of the armed forces in 1947, just after World War II ended, established the US Air Force as a separate branch of the military. Since World War II, the Air Force has been among the most important branches of the military because technological innovations have enabled the United States to conduct military activities entirely with aeronautical forces.

In 2019, a sixth branch of the US military was established, known as Space Force. This new branch took over duties once handled by divisions within the US Air Force. The stated mission of Space Force is to develop and eventually manage US military capabilities in space, but its role has not been clearly defined. Supporters of US Space Force argue that space military branches will eventually become standard and Space Force will provide future benefits.

The Cost of the Military

Six military branches and dozens of semi-independent sub-branches is a lot of US military, and it is the world’s most expensive army. As of 2021, the United States spends around $778 billion annually on the military. China, India, Russia, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Australia combined spend $761 billion annually on their militaries. Nearly 10 percent of all federal spending in the US is military spending, and nearly half of all discretionary funding is spent on military projects. Spending on the military, as a function of GDP, has declined in recent years, but the nation still spends more on military development than any other nation.⁵

Despite the largest price tag, the US armed forces are the third largest in the world. China maintains the largest military with 2.19 million active soldiers compared to 1.3 million active US military personnel, placing the United States just behind India’s 1.4 million. In addition to the world’s most well-funded military, the US military is considered the most powerful.⁶

The fact that military spending in the United States is dramatically high in comparison to every other developed nation is a constant criticism. However, this is a complex issue, and the amount of military funding should be considered in light of the amount of overall funding. Spending on the military has declined as a proportion of GDP. For example, during the 1960s, roughly 8 to 9 percent of the nation’s GDP was dedicated to the military, but this percentage has fallen to just over 3 percent. This, to some, is evidence that US military spending is not inflated but has actually become more reasonable over time.⁷

On the other hand, the US government’s choice to keep military funding at a high level means that other federal programs may be underfunded. For instance, 50 percent of all discretionary funding is typically annually dedicated to military spending, while education gets 6 percent of discretionary funds. While states make up the difference in spending on education, critics argue that additional federal resources could greatly improve educational opportunities, especially in areas where state and local budgets are lacking.⁸

The Ebb and Flow of Military Support

For most of American history, the US military has been a source of pride for most Americans. During the 1950s and 60s, however, Americans began to question their nation’s military activities, reflecting a more informed populace armed with different perspectives. As of 2021, the US government faces what can be described as a public relations crisis, extending to all agencies and representatives of the state, including US police departments and the military.

While most Americans express support and appreciation for the work done by soldiers and other military personnel, positive perceptions of service members and military leadership is in decline. This may prove deleterious for the US military in the future, leading to reduced emphasis on issues impacting military members and their families, such as pensions, veterans’ support, and military job growth. How successful the US government is in resuscitating its public image will also help to determine what future role the public accepts for the US military.

Works Used