In his seminal book “Guns, Germs & Steel” author Jared
Diamond makes an attempt to explain why the north – economic north is rich and
the south is poor.
"At the bottom of it is the agrarian revolution where farmers by adopting more modern methods of agriculture – crop spacing, irrigation and animal husbandry, were able to generate a surplus. This surplus was traded with neighbours or stored away to finance two classes of people that have been critical to the domination of western culture – the thinkers and the professional army...
That is how great scientists like Isaac Newton or Michael
Faraday or Galileo Galilei were able to tinker around for hours in their labs
and lay the foundations of modern science or allowed Aristotle and Socrates
while away their days thinking about the organization of society.
The professional army barracked away from society and the
study of military science in the same vein meant that the armies of western
Europe were able to sweep around the globe form conquest to conquest, with the
booty from this far flung empire – another surplus, helping to improve the
living standards of their people.
The development of the modern army is in response to the
need to project these country’s influence abroad and to defend themselves
against other rivals imperial ambitions.
In lesser developed nations armies were smaller, used
rudimentary weapons and little to no science in their operations.
When the war drums were beaten able bodied men reached for
the nearest implement and rushed onto the battlefield to protect their lands
and women. Or not. Driven more by passion than strategy.
No wonder a handful of soldiers were able to subdue all the
tribes on the African continent.
Fast forward to the present. This week 341 officers of the
Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) were retired in a lively ceremony at
Bombo barracks.
Some had been in service since the 1970s having been passed
down from the Uganda Army to the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) the
National Resistance Army (NRA) and eventually the UPDF.
Before being demobilized they were oriented into civilian
life, advised about how best to utilize their severance pay and how to access
their pensions.
This was a great occasion not just for the UPDF but for the
country as a whole. For one the fact that the UPDF can allow people leave is a
sign of the peace prevailing in the nation. While they are still on call as
reservists, the urgency to maintain all officers and men in situ is not there
anymore and is not conceived for the near future.
It also means the Forces are being renewed with young people
joining and coming through the ranks.
As a peace time force they need to be looking to improve the quality of the force rather than increasing the size of the force. Recently reported plans to convert Kabamba Military Academy into a university of military science points in this direction. We shall return to this.
Secondly, these can add to efforts to boost the economy.
Soldiers by training and practice are disciplined and understand its
usefulness. There is nothing worthwhile that can be achieved without
discipline. In western economies demobilized soldiers become businessmen and
consultants, their value recognized by business and their contribution valued.
In more competitive economies every edge counts and the army
is recognized as useful resource for mining leaders.
The battles of the future will not be fought with the AK47 –
a handy, sturdy gun, well suited to our low technology environments. The
battles of the future will be fought in cyberspace, in the labs and with much
more advanced technologies and out of necessity will require a different kind
of soldier.
Continuous renewal of the forces can help in better
appreciating this new reality.
I think I am young and as a member of the press, I am ahead
of most people in our society in keeping abreast of recent developments. But
any superiority I feel over my fellow man is often dissipated within minutes of
sitting around ten year olds with access to a smart device and a data
connection.
"Not only do they have more access to information than I had at their age, but they are leveraging and manipulating it in ways that can only come from early adoption of these technologies and a fearlessness of the possibilities....
I shudder to think what they will be doing with their
computers in a decade or so from now.
The physical demands of military service are a natural
filter but given the rapid changes in technology and military science, we may
be forced to be more proactive not only returning officers and men into
civilian life but in accelerating the training of those still in the force.
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