The military organizations which a country officially establishes in order to impose its will onto other countries or to defend itself from attack by other countries. Such forces are to be distinguished from unofficial armed groups (such as brigands) and from the internal law-enforcement agencies (such as the police). The three main branches of the armed forces are the army, navy, and air force; but there may be some overlap between these branches (eg the marines), and the personnel may be of various kinds (eg professionals, conscripts, mercenaries, reserves).
The armed forces of a state are its government sponsored defense and fighting forces and organizations. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces. Armed force is the use of armed forces to achieve political objectives.
The study of the use of Armed Forces is called military science.
Organization
Armed forces may be organized as standing forces (e.g.
A compromise between the two has a small cadre of professional NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and officers who act as a skeleton for a much larger force.
The armed forces in many larger countries are divided into three forces: an army, an air force, and usually a navy (unless geography dictates otherwise). These forces may be solely for the purposes of training and support, or may be completely independent branches responsible for conducting operations independently of other services. Most smaller countries have a single organization that encompasses all armed forces employed by the country in question.
Various countries have a variation on this standard model of three basic forces. Some, following the French model, use four forces, an army, a navy, an air force, and a gendarmerie, all with equal status. Other variations include South Africa (army, navy, air force, military health service), and Egypt (army, navy, air force, air defence.) The United States has five armed forces or services; the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, and the US Coast Guard. A unique version is Canada's Canadian Forces which is a unified force. (Army, Navy and Air Force combined together.)
In larger armed forces the culture between the different branches of a countries armed forces can be quite different. It has been said that "a navy and an air force man equipment" whereas "an army equips men".
Benefits and costs
The obvious benefit to a country in maintaining armed forces is in providing protection from foreign threats, and from internal conflict. In recent decades armed forces personnel have also been used as emergency civil support roles in post-disaster situations.
Excessive expenditure on armed forces can drain a society of needed manpower and material, significantly reducing civilian living standards. This lack of development in turn can affect armed forces in a vicious cycle.
Armed forces of the world
See also: Category:Military by country
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