Editing Military (section)

===Personnel and units===
{{main|Military personnel}}
{{See also|Military reserve|Military service|Women in the military}}
Despite the growing importance of [[military technology]], military activity depends above all on people. For example, in 2000 the British Army declared: "Man is still the first weapon of war."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395358/2000-ADPvol5_Soldiering_the_Military_Covenant_Ver2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395358/2000-ADPvol5_Soldiering_the_Military_Covenant_Ver2.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live|title=Soldiering: The military covenant|last=British Army|date=2000|access-date=2017-12-13}}</ref>

==== Rank and role ====
The military organization is characterized by a [[command hierarchy]] divided by [[military rank]], with ranks normally grouped (in descending order of authority) as [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] (e.g. [[colonel]]), [[non-commissioned officer]]s (e.g. [[sergeant]]), and personnel at the lowest rank (e.g. [[Private (rank)|private]]). While senior officers make strategic decisions, subordinated military personnel ([[soldier]]s, [[sailor]]s, [[marine (military)|marines]], or [[airmen]]) fulfil them. Although rank titles vary by [[military branch]] and country, the rank hierarchy is common to all state armed forces worldwide.

In addition to their rank, personnel occupy one of many trade roles, which are often grouped according to the nature of the role's military tasks on combat operations: [[combat]] roles (e.g. [[infantry]]), [[combat support]] roles (e.g. [[combat engineer]]s), and [[combat service support]] roles (e.g. [[Military logistics|logistical support]]).

==== Recruitment ====
{{Main|Military recruitment}}

Personnel may be [[Military recruitment|recruited]] or [[Conscription|conscripted]], depending on the system chosen by the state. Most military personnel are males; the minority proportion of female personnel varies internationally (approximately 3% in India,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/02/indias-military-to-allow-women-in-combat-roles/|title=India's Military to Allow Women in Combat Roles|last=Franz-Stefan Gady|work=The Diplomat|access-date=2017-12-12|language=en-US}}</ref> 10% in the UK,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2017|title=UK armed forces biannual diversity statistics: 2017|date=2017|website=www.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=2017-12-12}}</ref> 13% in Sweden,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/sv/om-myndigheten/vara-varderingar/jamstalldhet-och-jamlikhet/historik/|title=Historik|last=Försvarsmakten|website=Försvarsmakten|language=sv-SE|access-date=2017-12-12}}</ref> 16% in the US,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usarec.army.mil/support/faqs.htm|title=Support Army Recruiting|last=US Army|date=2013|website=www.usarec.army.mil|access-date=2017-12-12|archive-date=9 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109101909/http://www.usarec.army.mil/support/faqs.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and 27% in South Africa<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16708:fact-file-sandf-regular-force-levels-by-race-a-gender-april-30-2011-&catid=79:fact-files&Itemid=159|title=Fact file: SANDF regular force levels by race & gender: April 30, 2011 {{!}} defenceWeb|last=Engelbrecht|first=Leon|website=www.defenceweb.co.za|date=29 June 2011|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-12-12}}</ref>). While two-thirds of states now recruit or conscript only adults, as of 2017 50 states still relied partly on children under the age of 18 (usually aged 16 or 17) to staff their armed forces.<ref name="CSIntl-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.child-soldiers.org/where-are-there-child-soldiers|title=Where are child soldiers?|work=Child Soldiers International|access-date=2017-12-08|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201210707/https://www.child-soldiers.org/where-are-there-child-soldiers|archive-date=1 February 2018|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Whereas recruits who join as [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] tend to be [[Upwardly mobile|upwardly-mobile]],<ref name="Segal-1998">{{Cite journal|last=Segal, D R|display-authors=etal|date=1998|title=The all-volunteer force in the 1970s|jstor=42863796|journal=Social Science Quarterly|volume=72 |issue=2|pages=390–411}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bachman|first1=Jerald G.|last2=Segal|first2=David R.|last3=Freedman-Doan|first3=Peter|last4=O'Malley|first4=Patrick M.|title=Who chooses military service? Correlates of propensity and enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces.|journal=Military Psychology|language=en|volume=12|issue=1|pages=1–30|doi=10.1207/s15327876mp1201_1|year=2000|s2cid=143845150}}</ref> most enlisted personnel have a childhood background of relative [[Socio-economic gap|socio-economic deprivation]].<ref name="Brett-2004">Brett, Rachel, and Irma Specht. ''Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight''. Boulder: [[Lynne Rienner Publishers]], 2004. {{ISBN|1-58826-261-8}}{{page needed|date=May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_49985.html|title=Machel Study 10-Year Strategic Review: Children and conflict in a changing world|website=UNICEF|access-date=2017-12-08|archive-date=9 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209100213/https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_49985.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Iversen|first1=Amy C.|last2=Fear|first2=Nicola T.|last3=Simonoff|first3=Emily|last4=Hull|first4=Lisa|last5=Horn|first5=Oded|last6=Greenberg|first6=Neil|last7=Hotopf|first7=Matthew|last8=Rona|first8=Roberto|last9=Wessely|first9=Simon|date=2007-12-01|title=Influence of childhood adversity on health among male UK military personnel|url=http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/191/6/506|journal=The British Journal of Psychiatry|language=en|volume=191|issue=6|pages=506–511|doi=10.1192/bjp.bp.107.039818|issn=0007-1250|pmid=18055954|doi-access=free}}</ref>&nbsp;For example, after the US suspended conscription in 1973, "the military disproportionately attracted African American men, men from lower-status socioeconomic backgrounds, men who had been in nonacademic high school programs, and men whose high school grades tended to be low".<ref name="Segal-1998" /> However, a study released in 2020 on the socio-economic backgrounds of U.S. Armed Forces personnel suggests that they are at parity or slightly higher than the civilian population with respect to socio-economic indicators such as parental income, parental wealth and cognitive abilities. The study found that technological, tactical, operational and doctrinal changes have led to a change in the demand for personnel. Furthermore, the study suggests that the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups are less likely to meet the requirements of the modern U.S. military.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Asoni|first1=Andrea|last2=Gilli|first2=Andrea|last3=Gilli|first3=Mauro|last4=Sanandaji|first4=Tino|date=2020-01-30|title=A mercenary army of the poor? Technological change and the demographic composition of the post-9/11 U.S. military|journal=Journal of Strategic Studies|volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=568–614|doi=10.1080/01402390.2019.1692660|issn=0140-2390|doi-access=|s2cid=213899510 }}</ref>

==== Obligations ====

The obligations of military employment are many. Full-time military employment normally requires a minimum period of service of several years; between two and six years is typical of armed forces in Australia, the UK and the US, for example, depending on role, branch, and rank.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://army.defencejobs.gov.au/jobs/artillery-air-defender?ci=0|title=Army – Artillery – Air Defender|website=army.defencejobs.gov.au|language=en|access-date=2017-12-09}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Gee-2016">{{Cite journal|last1=Gee|first1=David|last2=Taylor|first2=Rachel|date=2016-11-01|title=Is it Counterproductive to Enlist Minors into the Army?|journal=The RUSI Journal|volume=161|issue=6|pages=36–48|doi=10.1080/03071847.2016.1265837|s2cid=157986637|issn=0307-1847}}</ref><ref name="Findlaw-2017">{{Cite news|url=http://military.findlaw.com/administrative-issues-benefits/what-is-a-military-enlistment-contract.html|title=What is a Military Enlistment Contract?|work=Findlaw|access-date=2017-12-09}}</ref> Some armed forces allow a short [[Military discharge|discharge]] window, normally during training, when recruits may leave the armed force as of right.<ref name="UK legislation-2007">{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/3382/contents/made|title=The Army Terms of Service Regulations 2007|website=www.legislation.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=2017-12-09}}</ref> Alternatively, part-time military employment, known as [[Military reserve force|reserve service]], allows a recruit to maintain a civilian job while training under military discipline at weekends; he or she may be called out to [[Military operation|deploy on operations]] to supplement the full-time personnel complement. After leaving the armed forces, recruits may remain liable for compulsory return to full-time military employment in order to train or [[Military operation|deploy on operations]].<ref name="UK legislation-2007" /><ref name="Findlaw-2017" />

[[Military Law|Military law]] introduces offences not recognized by civilian courts, such as [[Desertion|absence without leave (AWOL)]], desertion, political acts, [[malingering]], behaving disrespectfully, and disobedience (see, for example, [[offences against military law in the United Kingdom]]).<ref name="UK Ministry Defence-2017">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440632/20150529-QR_Army_Amdt_31_Jul_2013.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440632/20150529-QR_Army_Amdt_31_Jul_2013.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live|title=Queen's Regulations for the Army (1975, as amended)|last=UK, Ministry of Defence|date=2017|access-date=2017-12-09}}</ref> Penalties range from a summary [[reprimand]] to imprisonment for several years following a [[Court-martial|court martial]].<ref name="UK Ministry Defence-2017" /> Certain rights are also restricted or suspended, including the freedom of association (e.g. union organizing) and freedom of speech (speaking to the media).<ref name="UK Ministry Defence-2017" /> Military personnel in some countries have a right of [[Conscientious objector|conscientious objection]] if they believe an order is immoral or unlawful, or cannot in good conscience carry it out.

Personnel may be posted to bases in their home country or overseas, according to operational need, and may be deployed from those bases on [[Military exercise|exercises]] or [[Military operation|operations]]. During peacetime, when military personnel are generally stationed in [[garrison]]s or other permanent military facilities, they conduct administrative tasks, [[military training|training]] and [[military education|education]] activities, [[Maintenance, repair and operations|technology maintenance]], [[military recruitment|and recruitment]].

==== Training ====
[[File:USRAK soldiers attend Finnish army's cold weather training 150110-A-WX507-585.jpg|thumb|upright|Finnish and American soldiers training together in arctic conditions in [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland, Finland]], January 6–16, 2015]]
{{Main|Military recruit training}}
Initial training conditions recruits for the demands of military life, including preparedness to injure and kill other people, and to face mortal danger without fleeing. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process which [[Resocialization|resocializes]] recruits for the unique nature of military demands.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} For example:
* Individuality is suppressed (e.g. by shaving the head of new recruits, issuing uniforms, denying privacy, and prohibiting the use of first names);<ref name="McGurk-2006">{{Cite book|chapter=Joining the ranks: The role of indoctrination in transforming civilians to service members|title = Military life: The psychology of serving in peace and combat |volume = 2|last1=McGurk|first1= Dennis|last2=Cotting |first2 = Dave I.|last3= Britt|first3=Thomas W.|last4= Adler|first4 = Amy B.|display-authors=1|publisher=Praeger Security International |year=2006|isbn=978-0-275-98302-4|location=Westport, Connecticut|pages=13–31|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mwuEuGG1-1UC&pg=PA13}}</ref><ref name="Hockey-1986">{{Cite book|title=Squaddies : portrait of a subculture|last=Hockey|first=John|date=1986 |publisher= University of Exeter|isbn=978-0-85989-248-3|location=Exeter, Devon|oclc=25283124}}</ref>
* Daily routine is tightly controlled (e.g. recruits must make their beds, polish boots, and stack their clothes in a certain way, and mistakes are punished);<ref name="Bourne-1967">{{Cite journal|last=Bourne|first=Peter G.|date=1967-05-01|title=Some Observations on the Psychosocial Phenomena Seen in Basic Training|journal=Psychiatry|volume=30|issue=2|pages=187–196|doi=10.1080/00332747.1967.11023507|issn=0033-2747|pmid=27791700}}</ref><ref name="Hockey-1986" />
* Continuous [[stressor]]s deplete psychological resistance to the demands of their instructors (e.g. depriving recruits of sleep, food, or shelter, shouting insults and giving orders intended to humiliate)<ref name="Grossman-2009">{{Cite book|title=On killing : the psychological cost of learning to kill in war and society|last=Grossman|first=Dave|date=2009|publisher=Little, Brown and Co|isbn=978-0-316-04093-8|edition=Rev.|location=New York|oclc=427757599}}</ref><ref name="Hockey-1986" /><ref name="Bourne-1967" />
* Frequent punishments serve to condition group conformity and discourage poor performance;<ref name="Hockey-1986" />
* The disciplined drill instructor is presented as a role model of the ideal soldier.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Faris|first=John H.|date=2016-09-16|title=The Impact of Basic Combat Training: The Role of the Drill Sergeant in the All-Volunteer Army|journal=Armed Forces & Society|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|pages=115–127|doi=10.1177/0095327x7500200108|s2cid=145213941}}</ref>