Due 18August2015
Communication in the United States Army … “an order that be misunderstood be misunderstood.” Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke Communication in the United States Army is arguably the single most vital aspect in waging effective and overpowering warfare. On average the United States Army spends around 1.8billion dollars on communication equipment procurement and upkeep the shocking part is this number does not cover the cost of training individual soldiers or research and development of new communication technology’s it is exclusive to procurement and maintenance of equipment and materials. The history of communication in military’s goes back as far as written history with the first battle ever recorded in the 15th century BC the battle of Megiddo where the Egyptian forces under command of Pharaoh Thutmose III attacked a price of Kadesh who was holding the key city of Megiddo. The use of horns was recorded signaling the order to attack. Up in until the mid-19th century the common methods of communication ranged from a runner carrying a letter, a man on a horse taking a message hundreds of miles as was the case with the infamous Paul Revere, to being told what to do by the change of rhythm of a drum or horn, even flags have been widely used to signal units that were to attack to come forward or to convey a rally point for soldiers in the heat of battle. As archaic and non-functional as these methods seem to us today it wasn’t until the 1830s and the invention of the telegraph did communication in the army become electronic however the old tried and true methods of curriers and flags were still used extensively.
With this new invention messages took minutes to reach one place to another rather than hours or days. This coupled with advancements in weapons technology can most certainly be attributed to the larger and larger number of casualty’s inflicted on battlefields as now commanders could react more quickly to unfolding events.
Fast forward to the 1920’s and we see the first true examples of what today we would call electronic communications. The invention of Radio tubes and transistors eventually would see the introduction of the first backpack FM radio during World War II able to be carried by a single soldier out on the battlefield allowing for precise hands on real time information to be conveyed to commanders and other units in the area.
Today the United States Army’s communication capabilities range from Radios, Digital transmission devises, and satellite communication. The man of foot careering a message has been replaced by helicopters or aircraft to deliver important documents or correspondences. Apart from the equipment used, a well refined and nearly undecipherable language for persons who have not been in the army has emerged, By infusing people from all of the country and even the world and there native vernacular and add on the military’s insistence on using acronyms, the term Army speak or Army talk has become common among family members and civilians that have spent any extend period of time with a soldier. On numerous occasions when telling my wife stories of my time in the military, or when I am around an old Army buddy, she will stop me mid-sentence and say “Alan I was not in the Army! I have no idea what you are saying, speak English.” And it is true hearing two soldiers talking to one another sounds more like someone drunkenly attempting to say their ABC’s and injecting profanity where ever possible. Not only do soldiers speak what seems to be a different language they also have their own spin on the alphabet its self, assigning words to letters so to be absolutely clear when speaking to someone or talking on the radio. Add that to indoctrinated slang such as ACK-ACK (Anti-Aircraft defense) or 40mike mike (40 millimeter grenade launcher) and throw on common solider terms like Blue Falcon (backstabber) and Fart Sack (sleeping bag) and you can see very quickly how it is indeed its own language. This bastardisation of the English language is however extremely effective. When spending time with solders in a training or even combat scenario you cannot help but notice how quick conversations are and how much information is given, by breaking down words into shorter and often clearer forms, combining multiple words together into one word, or using one word to describe and entire series of actions you get a clear and concise message in a fraction of the time it would take if you were speaking proper English. Let it be said communication is the first and most important aspect of any modern military. I know from my time in the Army the first thing you did when you arrived in a new area was set up communications. I remember my time in Afghanistan no mission would start and no vehicle would leave the bases gates unless they had communications up and checked with the headquarters and not just one form, we had 4 different radios, a satellite radio, and digital communication devices that worked somewhat like text messaging in just one vehicle. The infuses on communications was so solidly driven into us it was arguably more important than food or water because with communication you cannot call for help and if you can’t call for help you die.