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Ms.

Burr
BritLit
3/23/15
Militaryadvancesandtheadvantagestheyprovide
Sincethebeginningoftimemanhaspartakenintheartthatiswarfare,sincethat
earlyagewarhasgrownandevolvedalongwithus,arguablyadvancesinwarfarehave
beenthegreatestdrivingforceinourevolutionintoourmodernsociety.Butinthe
modernworldthatweliveintodayourmodernmilitaryadvancesarebeingstifledbythe
publicwhodirectlybenefitsfromit.Theadvancementsmadeinmilitarytechnology
greatlybenefitoursocietyandmankindasawholeinmanyways,includingconsumer
technology,nationalsecurityandhumanityonthebattlefield.
Sincetheverybeginningtheadvanceswemadeonthebattlefieldhaveequated
toadaptedcivilianandconsumertechnology.Almosteverytechnologythatyouuse
todaycanbetracedbacktothebattlefield,fromthezippersonourjacketstothe
chemotherapyweusetotreatcancer,allofthesehavetheiroriginsonthefrontlinesof
war.Somemorespecificexamplesofconsumerproductsincludepenicillin,this
medicinewasdiscoveredduringtheworldwarswhenscientistswerehuntingfora
meanstofightbacteria.Radar/sonarthesetechnologieswerecreatedduringtheworld
wartwoeraandinmodernsocietyinsuresafertravelinallforms.Andmostobviously
drones,theserobotswerecreatedinthemid1900sbythenavyforintelligenceandstill
serveinourmilitarybutalsohaveagrowingpresenceinoursocietyforfilming,hunting,
cleaninganddeliveringpackages.(Les)Imaginethetypesoftechnologythatwillbe

availabletosocietyinthenexthundredyearsconsideringtheadvancesmadebythe
militaryinthelasthundred.
Whilemilitarytechnologyoffersnumerouspossibilitiesontheconsumerfront,it
createsamuchneededpromiseofsafetyforsoldiersonthefrontlinesofthebattlefield.
Asourtechnologiesdevelopfurthersodoesthelifeexpectancyandqualityoflifefor
oursoldiers.TechnologylikeLS3theroboticpackmuledevelopedbybostondynamics,
takesmuchoftheburdenofheavyequipmentoffsoldiersbacksandoffersabackup
powersourceforsoldierequipmentofpatrol,(Cronk)technologysuchasthisandthe
soontobereleasedexoskeletonoffersnewcombatefficiencyandversatilityfor
soldiers.WhileLS3andtheexoskeletonofferphysicaladvantages,technologylike
dronesandtheEodbotofferrealtimeintelligenceforsoldiersinthefieldandcommand
backhomeaswellasdestroyinganddisarmingthreats.(Boyle)Overallthesenew
advancesinmilitarytechhavecreatedabetterlifeforsoldiersonthebattlefield,these
advancesmakesoldierssaferandmakelifeonthefrontlinesmucheasier.
Despitethesenumerousadvantagesmanypeoplestillarguethatthese
advancementsarebad.Manyskepticssuggestthatthisnewtechnologywillinevitably
leadtowarbetweenadvancedcountries,andinthelongrunisabadinvestment.It
shouldbenotedhoweverthatthesefearsareunfounded,Nowarshavebeenfought
betweenmilitarysuperpowerssinceWWIIandthereisgoodreasonforthat,new
technologyhascreatedaformofnucleardeterrentorunspokenagreementbetween
countriesthatwarwouldmeanequaldestructionforbothsides.Whilemanymayargue
thisisashakyagreementtobasepeaceon,ithasleadtolongesthistoricalpeacetime

betweentheseadvancedcountries.Asimilarargumentisthatadvancedmilitarytechis
inhumanetoenemysoldiersandciviliansonthebattlefield.Againtheseclaimsare
unfounded,newweaponslikesmartbombsfromdronesarehighlyaccurateandhave
greatlyreducedciviliancasualtiesindangerclosesituations.Alsomodernballistics
showthatstandardammogenerallypassstraightthroughthebodycausingminimal
painanddamage,asopposedtoolderammothatwouldbreakinthebodycausing
largeamountsofinternalbleeding.(Boyle)
Theachievementsmadeinthisfieldofstudyhavegreatlybenefitedthe
consumermarket,thefieldofmedicineandmostimportantlyitbenefitsoursoldierson
thefrontlines.Withallthebenefitsprovidedtouswhywouldwecutfundinginthisfield,
reducingspendingwouldonlyservetohurtfuturesciencethereforeharmingfuture
generations.

WorksCited

Boyle,Ashley.TheUSanditsUAVs:ACostBenefitAnalysis.
Americansecurityproject
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N.p.,24July2012.Web.20Mar.2015.
<http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theusanditsuavsacostbenefitanalysis/>.
Cronk,TerriMoon.RobottoServeasFutureMilitarysPackMule.
U.S.Departmentof
defense
.N.p.,19Dec.2012.Web.20Mar.2015.
<http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=118838>.
Evans,Stephan.10inventionsthatowetheirsuccesstoWorldWarOne.
BBCnews
.BBC,13
Apr.2014.Web.19Mar.2015.<http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine26935867>.
Hotchkiss,Michael.Beyondthebomb:Atomicresearchchangedmedicine,biology.
Princeton
university
.Princetonuniversity,27Feb.2014.Web.19Mar.2015.
<http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S39/32/70E02/index.xml>.
Kusek,Kristen.The$3millionsuit.
HarvardGazette
.N.p.,11Sept.2014.Web.20Mar.
2015.<http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/09/the3millionsuit/>.
Shu,Les.GPS,drones,microwavesandothereverydaytechnologiesbornonthebattlefield.
Digitaltrends
.N.p.,26May2014.Web.20Mar.2015.
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/cooltech/modernciviliantechmadepossiblewartimere
searchdevelopment/#/5>.

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