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Subject:
Top Ten Armies of the World - According to StrategyPage
swhitebull
6/12/2004 7:47:54 AM
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| This is from today's (6/12/2004) FYEO:
ARMED FORCES OF THE WORLD: Who Has the Most Combat Power
June 12, 2004: Which country on the planet has the most powerful armed
forces? It's not a matter of numbers, although that's a major factor.
By size (number of troops), the top ten looks like this;
By Armed Forces Size
China
United States
India
Korea, North
Russia
Korea, South
Pakistan
Israel
Turkey
Iran
But anyone who has studied military history knows that the number of
troops is a misleading measurement. There are several factors that make
the troops of one army more effective than others. The most obvious
modifying factor is weapons and equipment (quantity and quality). Closely
related to this are the ?combat support? elements. The most important of
these are logistics (being able to move troops, and their supplies, long
distances and in a timely manner) and maintenance (keeping things in
repair and running under all conditions.) Then there are the intangibles,
like leadership, training and the most intangible item of all; military
tradition. Apply all of those and you get a different top ten. This number
is called "combat power."
By Combat Power
United States
China
Israel
India
Russia
Korea, South
Korea, North
United Kingdom
Turkey
Pakistan
The most unusual entry here is Israel. But this is because Israel is one
of the few nations to have a reserve army that can be mobilized for action
more quickly than most countries can get their active duties into shape
for combat. The mobilized Israeli armed forces number over half a million
troops. In addition, the Israelis have world class equipment and weapons,
as well as exceptional intangibles. The downsize of this is that
mobilizing its armed forces also cripples the Israeli economy. Under these
conditions, Israel must conduct a war that ends within a few months. After
that, supplying the armed forces becomes difficult and actual combat power
begins to decline.
The other nations in the top ten have large armed forces that are well
equipped and trained, at least compared to most nations farther down on
the list. Britain?s armed forces, like Israel?s, are better equipped,
trained and more experienced than most. Turkey benefits from having a
strong military tradition and excellent leadership at the small unit
level, as well as good combat training.
Overall, the U.S. combat power is about three times that of second place
China, and ten times that of tenth place Pakistan. But another modifying
factor is how you plan to use that combat power. Wars are not fought in a
vacuum, but in places that often inconvenient places for one side. Most
armed forces are optimized for fighting on their own borders; for
defending the homeland. Only the United States is capable of quickly
moving lots of combat power to anywhere on the planet. Moreover, given a
few months, the United States can put enough combat power just about
anywhere, and become the major military force in that neighborhood.
swhitebull - sure to raise a few hackles, n'est ce pas?
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