Warfare & Technology

With technology advancing at the rate that it is going in the 21st Century there has to be advancement in our tech used in the battlefield. Yet does this yield the use of remote drones and pilots that are never physically in the battle themselves? In the Frontline special "Digital Nation" the journalists interview military officers that partake in this field and how they deal with "being in the battle without actually being in it". Also the documentary covers a training program the Military uses to train infantry soldiers and helps with determining who is a threat and who is just an innocent bystander. Some people feel that using that drones or any technology like it to fight our battles is almost unethical and morally wrong. Yet I find that this type of warfare helps eliminate the percentage of American soldiers that could have been killed by being on that battlefield. Also, the technology that we have nowadays is not like that of the mid 20^th century. It has grown and expanded itself to the point where it is needed to use tactics such as drones to successfully win a battle.

         In the film, it discusses how some soldiers have problems dealing with using this tech because it pulls them into a combat scenarios where lives are on the line but then they are done and going home. For years the men and women of our armed services come out of duty and are plagued with PTSD and other mental diseases or afflictions as a result of the stresses of war. However, I feel that using our technology more to limit the amount of time that our people have to spend in the field to fight the enemies of America will help with improving the mental state and health of soldiers. If we can implement more use of technology like this to limit physical use it could help with the number of people in our forces that are killed everywhere. There would be mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and etc. that would be able to rejoin their families and just be home in general. Barely anyone could ever tell me that our forces shouldn’t use some sort of technology that would allow this. 

   In current generations the integration of technology in daily life is pretty much seamless and flows without much hassle. Also in Digital Nation the correspondents talk about Military recruitment centers that allow children at a certain age come to this building and play war video games and have competitions to see who is the best player. Now please do not misunderstand me, I completely comprehend that the Armed Forces are not allowed to try and recruit individuals under the age of 17. But I feel that because they have these areas for kids to improve some of these skills it could help show them a career path. Or it is another way for kids to get away from the stress of everything else. In the video several of the kids at these centers are asked if they feel that the game makes them feel like warfare is a “game or not a serious manner”, and all of the kids say that they understand that what they do on the gaming consoles is not real life and what goes on an actual battlefield is not in any shape or form a game. So if someone was to say that government doing this is going to lead to violent or careless kids that will one day grow into adults who have the same attributes will not be true. Additionally, those of my generations under me have this connection to technology that could allow for us to strive in use of it in warfare. Because of our ease of interaction with more and more technology we could have the possibility to evolve not just the world around us but even ourselves. This idea somewhat attainable by the rate that technology in our lives is expanding and growing at such a fast pace. Take for example how weapons like tanks and atomic bombs changed the way wars were fought. Now think of how much more warfare would be affected if we had the ability to remove our human presence from the battle but still keep weapons or resources there and win the fight. This could one day be the norm with the advancement of the drone technology that we already use in modern times. However, I will admit that there is a question of ethics when it comes to using drone warfare because of the fact that anyone could do it and that could possible feeling of carelessness towards the lives of others. And what about any bystanders that are killed because of the drone attacks? Well to these questions I say that using drones is not a perfect tactic but it was one that would be saving American lives. And with time the tech could vastly improve so that the drones will not affect the innocent and they can live in peace.

            Digital Nation also covers the use of simulators to help recreate possible battle situations and help those afflicted by PTSD to get control over their fears. This technology is helpful to the point were we would be able to train soldiers to look for certain clues and signals when in the actual battlefield. Plus, we could have the chance to find ways to better the general population by helping children and even adults with fighting their fears and phobias. Using this tech training would be smoother on troops and most likely filter out those who are not made for that lifestyle. 

So in conclusion it is my belief that using advance technology on the battlefield can lead to the U.S. Saving not just the lives of its troops but the lives of innocent bystanders that have nothing to do with the conflict.