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Military Networks

Military groups have existed since throughout recorded history. The military is conceived of typically as an army, navy, or air force. Social networking needs of the military have varied across time and place. Because of the military's need to recruit, allow forces to contact their families, maintain morale, and look after service members after discharge, military social networks have always been present. Various ways of training initiates, including military academies and boot camps, have colored social networks within the armed forces.

Soldiering as part of a military group has taken place for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese all had highly sophisticated armed forces, and naval fleets were also used to settle conflicts between warring groups and nations. The history of war focuses as much on the people and institutions of making war as it does on the conflicts themselves. Military forces have been mustered by every nation, although not all governments see the need for armed forces during times of peace. Military forces are called upon to meet various functions, which vary based upon the needs defined by the authorizing government entity. These functions include command, personnel, intelligence, economics, logistics, operations, performance assessment, capability development, and military science. Without these functions, an armed group ceases to be considered military and instead is known as a paramilitary group, civil defense unit, militia, or other such group.

As social networks are important to each of these functions, there is a range of social networks that greatly affect military operations. With their long traditions of international placement of military units, the U.S. and British forces have developed a particular expertise in social networking. As technological developments have allowed military forces in the field access to a variety of electronic devices and means of communication, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, the Internet, and certain Websites, social networking has changed and evolved in these institutions.

U.S. Military

Military operations in the United States are comprised of the U.S. Armed Forces, which include the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Historically, the U.S. military has a long tradition of civilian control. The armed forces are led by the president as commander-in-chief, with the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps under the administration of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the secretary of which is also a civilian, appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Over 1.4 million people serve in the various branches of the U.S. military, augmented by an additional 500,000 civilian employees. These numbers are augmented by the approximately 850,000 men and women who serve in military reserves or the National Guard. U.S. military forces serve at over 800 installations located in over 130 different nations around the globe and within the United States.

Social networks are especially strong among the various service branches, with deep loyalty engendered by the division in which one serves. The U.S. military recruits many of its members from high schools, colleges, and universities, with the target age group between 18 and 28 years of age, although those as young as 17 are permitted to enlist with parental permission. Recruits undergo basic training, which instills in them the social norms and procedures expected by their branch. Officers are trained either at one of the service academies sponsored by the U.S. military or through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) present on many independent campuses. Many former members of the military network with others through social organizations, such as the American Legion, with three million members, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), with over 1.6 million members. Social networks involving former military personnel are also interconnected with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a cabinet-level agency that runs a variety of medical facilities, hospitals, and benefits offices. The VA additionally provides social networks that assist veterans in receiving disability compensation, education, mortgage assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and other benefits. Military social networks play an important role in advocating for these benefits.

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