Software Update for the Military?
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The author of this article is Jim Perkins who was an active duty Army officer for 11 years and now is sharing his perspective on new and upcoming specialities in the military. The military has so many openings to serve in a lot of different capacities to match the talents and interests of those choosing to serve. But serving isn’t just being a pilot or a sniper or any number of “popular” military careers. The U.S. military’s “tooth-to-tail” ratio,  the number of direct combat forces compared to support personnel, is around 1:5. Vehicle and aircraft machines are, of course, important and extremely integral in the ability to be able to support our country and its citizens but those careers are not the only way to serve our country. Technological advances have provided an opportunity to serve our country. Supportive roles in the military are just as important as more “defined” roles.

The steady thread between history of warfare is unwavering support. When not physical support, it is mental support. This has been an active tie since the beginning of warfare, in the earliest of circumstances. As we’ve evolved from bow and arrow to computers doing the majority of technical work for us, we’ve begun to understand that we need to learn how to access improvements, failure and support as well as everything in between. We haven’t done the best job of that as a society. We have used digital technology for the past few decades. We need to cultivate digital experts and offer them space in the military. As Perkins states: “To remain a dominant force in the Information Age, the U.S. military,  all four services must create a corps of software developers in uniform.” And with that, it’s a new age, both concerning the military and the digital age.

Information technology is a booming business and had been for years. For the military to capitalize, train people to use the technology to their best advantage for the deca is a smart decision that is long overdue. There are many examples of innovation and how it propelled the modern world to change and adapt to new things. It can, however be challenging while dealing with all the complexities and as Perkins puts it: New technology and weaponry is soon worthless without the requisite maintenance and repair. ... The services must immediately begin identifying, training, and employing software developers across the force.” It’s important to recognize failure when dealing with something that is so overreaching in today’s society.

For the sake of future generations, we must take care of the language we speak about such pieces of innovation. You can find more information on this subject at: https://warontherocks.com/2018/01/next-new-military-specialty-software-developers/