Military communications

Military communicationsormilitary signalsinvolve all aspects ofcommunications,or conveyance ofinformation,byarmed forces.Examples fromJane's Military Communicationsinclude text, audio,facsimile,tactical ground-based communications,naval signalling,terrestrialmicrowave,tropospheric scatter,satellite communicationssystems and equipment,surveillanceandsignal analysis,security,direction findingandjamming.The most urgent purposes are to communicate information to commanders and orders from them.

United States Army Signal Corpsswitchboard operatorsin the 1940s

Military communications span from pre-history to the present. The earliest military communications were delivered byrunners.Later, communications progressed to visual signals. For example, Naval ships would use flag signaling to communicate from ship to ship. These flags are a uniform set of easily identifiable nautical codes that would convey visual messages and codes between ships and from ship to shore. Then militaries discovered methods to use audible signaling to communicate with each other. This way of communicating was possible because of telegraphs. They are an electronic device that is used by a sender and when the sender presses on the telegraph key, they interrupt the current creating an audible pulse that is heard at the receiving station. The receiver then decodes the pulses to decode the messages.Since then, military communication has evolved and advanced much further. Today, there are many perspectives used to examine how troops around the world communicate.The Word of Command: Communication and Cohesion in the MilitarybyAnthony Kingstates how Military sociologists have attempted to explain how military institutions develop and maintain high levels ofsocial cohesion.Communication plays a crucial role in fostering social cohesion in the military, as it allows soldiers to build relationships, establish trust, and work together towards common objectives.

History

A Japanesecourierpursued byCossacksduring theRusso-Japanese War,1904

In past centuries communicating a message usually required someone to go to the destination, bringing the message. Thus, the termcommunicationoften implied the ability to transport people and supplies. A place undersiegewas one that lost communication in both senses. The association between transport and messaging declined in recent centuries.

The first military communications involved the use of runners or the sending and receiving of simplesignals(sometimesencodedto be unrecognizable). The first distinctive uses of military communications were calledsemaphore.Modern units specializing in these tactics are usually designated assignal corps.The Roman system of military communication (cursus publicusorcursus vehicularis) is an early example of this. Later, the termssignalsandsignallerbecame words referring to a highly-distinct military occupation dealing with general communications methods (similar to those inciviluse) rather than withweapons.

Present-day military forces of aninformational societyconduct intense and complicated communicating activities on a daily basis, using moderntelecommunicationsandcomputingmethods. Only a small portion of these activities are directly related to combat actions. Modern concepts ofnetwork-centric warfare(NCW) rely onnetwork-oriented methods of communications and control to make existing forces more effective.

Military communications equipment

Further information:C4ISTAR

WRNSsignalwomentrainingnaval signalling,1943

Drums,horns,flags,andriderson horseback were some of the early methods the military used to send messages over distances. The advent of distinctive signals led to the formation of thesignal corps,a group specialized in the tactics of military communications. The signal corps evolved into a distinctive occupation where thesignallerbecame a highly technical job dealing with all available communications methods including civil ones.

ALuftwaffeofficer using a radio kit on aPanzer III,1940

In the middle 20th centuryradioequipment came to dominate the field. Many modern pieces of military communications equipment are built to both encrypt and decodetransmissionsand survive rough treatment in hostile climates. They use differentfrequenciesto send signals to other radio stations to communicate. Radios have played a major role in military communication. Since they are capable of sending radio waves to transmit voice signals over long distances. This can be helpful for communication on the battlefield since it is a good way to send messages undetected over long distances. Radios are also very reliable because even in harsh weather conditions they are still able to help you communicate. Militaries still use radios and continue to improve the technology because of their durability and reliability for military communication.

Military communications – or "comms" – are activities, equipment, techniques, and tactics used by the military in some of the most hostile areas of the earth and in challenging environments such as battlefields, on land (compareradio in a box), underwater and also in air. Military comms include command, control and communications and intelligence and were known as theC3Imodel before computers were fully integrated. The U.S. Army expanded the model toC4Iwhen it recognized the vital role played by automated computer equipment to send and receive large, bulky amounts of data.

In the modern world, most nations attempt to minimize the risk of war caused by miscommunication or inadequate communication. As a result, military communication is intense and complicated and often motivates the development of advanced technology for remote systems such as satellites. Satellites have been improving and are being used more and more for communication. They are being made to have higher transmission capacity to help with their communication abilities. The military is upgrading satellites to be immune to interference during combat operations. This advancement will establish stable, high-quality information highways for long distance communication.Aircraft are also beneficial for communication, both crewed and uncrewed, as well as computers. Computers and their varied applications have revolutionized military comms. Although military communication is designed for warfare, it also supports intelligence-gathering and communication between adversaries, and thus sometimes prevents war.

The six categories of military comms are:

• alert measurement systems
• cryptography
• military radio systems
• command and control
• signal corps
• network-centric warfare

AUnited States Armyradiomancommunicating with aCH-54 Tarheduring theVietnam War

The alert measurement systems are various states of alertness or readiness for the armed forces used around the world during a state of war, act of terrorism or a military attack against a state. They are known by different acronyms, such asDEFCON,or defense readiness condition, used by the U.S. Armed Forces.

Cryptographyis the study of methods of converting messages to a form unreadable except to one who knows how to decrypt them. This ancient military comms art gained new importance with the rise of radio systems whose signals traveled far and were easily intercepted. Cryptographic software is also widely used in civilian commerce.

Military Communication for families

Military communication with families is also important for military personnel, so that they can stay in touch with their loved ones. This ensures that during wartime or training, service members feel supported and loved by those they care about most, fostering confidence when they need it most. Military communication with civilian families has been especially beneficial during the United States over decades long deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.So, this will only help our troops during rough times and make them push through the struggle of war. This also helps troops stay updated on everything that is happening back home.

Commercial refile

In United States military communications systems, commercial refile refers to sending a military message via a commercialcommunications network.Themessagemay come from a militarynetwork,such as atape relaynetwork, a point-to-point telegraph network, aradio-telegraphnetwork, or theDefense Switched Network.

Commercial refiling of a message will usually require a reformatting of the message, particularly the heading.

A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (signals). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army.

Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, and digital communications.

See also

• Jane's Military Communications
• Command and control
• Signal Corps (disambiguation)
• Telecommunications
• Communications protection
• Electronic warfare
• Signals intelligence (SIGINT)
• Defence Information Infrastructure
• Kiev Military Institute of Control and Signals
• Luftwaffe radio equipment of World War II
• Bowman(British Army communications system)
• Parakeet(Australian Army communications system)
• Military Wireless Museum in the Midlands
• Telegraph troops

Forms of signalling

• Military hand and arm signals
• Morse code
• Flag semaphore
• Flag signals
• Naval flag signalling
• Signal lamp
• Heliograph
• Radio communications
• Wireless telegraphy

References

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfromFederal Standard 1037C.General Services Administration.Archived fromthe originalon 2022-01-22.(in support ofMIL-STD-188).

External links

• Signal Corps History
• Signal Corps Officer Candidate School History