ABSTRACT
The diverse observations reflect various perspectives from within and without the armed forces. Put in the rhetoric of scientific inquiry, armed forces around the world need to be treated, not as constants in a changing world, but as both independent and dependent variables which are central to the course of events as the millennium draws to a close. The transformation of the macro-micro parameter is explored in terms of the impact of global authority crises upon the exercise of military discipline and the capacity of armed forces to maintain and replenish their ranks. Nor is the evidence of greater analytic skills on the part of military personnel due only to the way in which turbulent conditions have heightened their self-interests. One consequence of the complexity is that armed forces are becoming more marginal even as their capabilities have become more relevant.
