Military asset
Encyclopedia
In military
usage, a military asset is a weapon
or means of production
of weapons or other defensive
or offensive
devices or capabilities.
, or part of public infrastructure
, is a matter of definition. War planners may deem individuals and other items in war zone
s and rebel controlled area as military assets and not civilian infrastructure. This can include train lines, water plants, agricultural factories, and medicine supplies.
Tactical imagery is used to find concealed high-value assets like artillery placements, ammo dumps and other logistical sites. Terrain and the proximity to supported units would dictate probable locations of logistical routes, ammo dumps, supply depots and assembly areas. Being that the military by definition embraces uniformity, patterns of emplacement and concealment are targeting by the opposing forces assets (such as artillery and air strikes). The size, shape, and surroundings of items frequently gave away the location of military assets and identifiable targets.
Marilyn Waring
argued in the 1980s that under the UN System of National Accounts there was no clear differentiator of investment in public good
s versus weaponry, and that this distorted the entire monetary system. See monetary reform
for more on this issue.
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
usage, a military asset is a weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
or means of production
Means of production
Means of production refers to physical, non-human inputs used in production—the factories, machines, and tools used to produce wealth — along with both infrastructural capital and natural capital. This includes the classical factors of production minus financial capital and minus human capital...
of weapons or other defensive
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
or offensive
Offensive (military)
An offensive is a military operation that seeks through aggressive projection of armed force to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational or tactical goal...
devices or capabilities.
Description
Whether a military asset is considered a capital assetCapital asset
The term capital asset has three unrelated technical definitions, and is also used in a variety of non-technical ways.*In financial economics, it refers to any asset used to make money, as opposed to assets used for personal enjoyment or consumption...
, or part of public infrastructure
Public infrastructure
Public infrastructure is a general term often qualified specifically as:* Aviation infrastructure - air traffic control technology in aviation* Critical infrastructure - assets required to sustain human life...
, is a matter of definition. War planners may deem individuals and other items in war zone
War Zone
A war zone is a location of military conflict, but the term may also refer to:* War Zone , a 1998 documentary about street harassment* The War Zone, a 1999 film starring Ray Winstone...
s and rebel controlled area as military assets and not civilian infrastructure. This can include train lines, water plants, agricultural factories, and medicine supplies.
Tactical imagery is used to find concealed high-value assets like artillery placements, ammo dumps and other logistical sites. Terrain and the proximity to supported units would dictate probable locations of logistical routes, ammo dumps, supply depots and assembly areas. Being that the military by definition embraces uniformity, patterns of emplacement and concealment are targeting by the opposing forces assets (such as artillery and air strikes). The size, shape, and surroundings of items frequently gave away the location of military assets and identifiable targets.
Marilyn Waring
Marilyn Waring
Marilyn Waring, CNZM, D.Phil., D.Litt. is a New Zealand feminist, a politician, an activist for female human rights and environmental issues, an author and an academic, known for her contributions to feminist economics....
argued in the 1980s that under the UN System of National Accounts there was no clear differentiator of investment in public good
Public good
In economics, a public good is a good that is non-rival and non-excludable. Non-rivalry means that consumption of the good by one individual does not reduce availability of the good for consumption by others; and non-excludability means that no one can be effectively excluded from using the good...
s versus weaponry, and that this distorted the entire monetary system. See monetary reform
Monetary reform
Monetary reform describes any movement or theory that proposes a different system of supplying money and financing the economy from the current system.Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals:...
for more on this issue.
See also
- Armed forcesArmed forcesThe armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
(NavyNavyA navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
, Air ForceAir forceAn air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
, ArmyArmyAn army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
and Marines) - Command (military formation)Command (military formation)A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
- Space geostrategySpace geostrategyGeostrategy in space deals with the strategic considerations of location and resources in outer space territory. In essence, it is the study of the strategic application of resources to the geography of space...
and the militarisation of spaceMilitarisation of spaceThe militarisation of space is the placement and development of weaponry and military technology in outer space.-History:Acquisition of high grounds for military advantage has been a perennial feature of military campaigns. For thousands of years, military tacticians have exploited the concept of... - Critical infrastructureCritical infrastructureCritical infrastructure is a term used by governments to describe assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy. Most commonly associated with the term are facilities for:*electricity generation, transmission and distribution;...
- Hard powerHard powerHard power is a term describing political power obtained from the use of military and/or economic coercion to influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies...
and Soft powerSoft powerSoft power is the ability to obtain what one wants through co-option and attraction. It can be contrasted with 'hard power', that is the use of coercion and payment...