Military structure

The following essay summarises the standard historical military development and organisation among all of the Man inhabited worlds

The military structure of a world is primarily determined by its mission and technology. Of these the technology available has proved the most distinctive turning point with the earlier distinctions on a planetary surface become less relevant when space flight becomes routine.
 * Prior to this point, it is common for military forces to be divided into land, water and air services with early (orbital) space forces usually being a subset of either the air or water force depending on those service's relative importance prior to routine interplanetary travel. Once spaceflight for a world became routine, the emphasis shifted to star system defence with the control of the space between planets becoming the key objective.


 * During the transition period while spaceflight is becoming routine, the ability to move rapidly around a world via low orbit coupled with missile and kinetic strike weapons begins the process of abolishing the division between the 3 mediums


 * Thereafter military forces are usually divided into surface and system commands with the geosynchronous height usually being recognised as the boundary.


 * When interstellar travel becomes practical, the interstellar arm typically emerges as a seperate force because of the radically different requirements imposed on vessels by the grav drive