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The U.S. military is a popular target for criticism and worse. This is especially true during the current two war period. What is frequently forgotten is the social contribution made by the U.S. military. In my lifetime I would point to two major accomplishments:
- In the 1950s the U.S. military was the first major organization to eliminate segregation and foster an environment of non-discrimination
- In 1969 DARPA, a part of the Defense Department, began the research that lead to the Internet
Today the military is at the forefront in research and development of unmanned aircraft and vehicles. I believe that such equipment will be commonly available to citizens for their every day use within twenty years.
Despite the controversy over global warming and Washington's unwillingness to address the problem, the military is aggressively expanding its use of solar power. This story from Fast Company highlights Project Solar Strong (ok-the name is a little hokey). Solar Strong is a project to provide solar power to 160,000 military residences in the U.S.
One could argue that all this technology was originally developed for war fighting, but that misses the point. The U.S. miliatary is a major force for positive change in the U.S. and much of our way of life is due to their leadership in our society.
