Military science
Military science studies the theory and practice of armed conflict, including strategy, tactics, military organization, technology, and logistics.
Strategy: The art of aligning long-term aims, resources, and actions to achieve objectives. Military science distinguishes strategic aims from the battles and operations used to pursue them.
Operational art: The planning and coordination of campaigns to connect tactical actions with strategic objectives. It bridges strategic goals and the sequence of operations that pursue them.
Sun Tzu: An ancient Chinese military thinker traditionally credited with writing The Art of War. His work remains a foundational statement of strategic thought.
Military history: The study of past wars, armed forces, and military institutions through historical evidence. It reconstructs past conflict, while military science also develops concepts for practice.
Military tactics: The methods units use to engage an adversary and accomplish immediate objectives in combat. Tactics address combat decisions at a smaller scale than military strategy.
Command and control: The exercise of authority and direction over forces to accomplish a mission. It organizes decisions, communication, and action across military units.
Thucydides: An ancient Greek historian whose account of the Peloponnesian War examines power and conflict. His history supplies enduring analysis of war’s political causes and dynamics.
Peace and conflict studies: An interdisciplinary field examining violence, conflict, peace, and their prevention or resolution. Its scope includes nonmilitary paths to understanding and addressing conflict.
Military logistics: The planning and delivery of personnel, equipment, supplies, and services to military forces. Logistics determines whether forces can be sustained where and when they are needed.
Military campaign: A coordinated series of operations directed toward a strategic objective within a war or theater. Campaigns turn operational plans into linked military actions over time.