Abstract Potential military applications of geology became apparent in Europe by the late eighteenth century, notably to Napoleon Bonaparte. In the United Kingdom, nineteenth-century practice was commonly to teach elementary geology to army officer cadets, and in twentieth-century conflicts to deploy a single uniformed geologist as a staff officer within each major regional headquarters, initially leaving terrain analysis to geographers. In Germany, considerably greater use was made of uniformed geologists serving as teams within all theaters of military operation in both world wars, generating a wealth of data now published or accessible in national archives. In the United States, a few military geologists were appointed to serve in uniform in France during World War I, but during World War II, a far greater number were civilians, based within a Military Geology Unit of the U.S. Geological Survey at Washington, D.C. Despite different organizational backgrounds, and irrespective of nationality, military geologists have addressed similar geoscience problems.

Abstract Over the past 100 years, hydrogeology has played a role in most military operations undertaken by the USA. The first significant application by US forces took place during World War I, on the Western Front. America's entry into World War II highlighted the need for military hydrogeologists once again, and a combination of civilian and uniformed hydrogeologists provided valuable support to the war effort, notably by terrain analysis. During the Cold War, the United States Geological Survey Military Geology Branch conducted military hydrogeological studies, and in 1985 the US Army Corps of Engineers created the Water Detection Response Team (WDRT) to provide hydrogeological expertise to military well-drilling units. During the Persian Gulf War of 1990–1991, groundwater was important for sustaining troops living in the northern Saudi Arabian desert. Operations in Bosnia and Kosovo later in that decade required the assistance of the WDRT in obtaining adequate groundwater supplies for base camps. Current military operations in Afghanistan rely on groundwater as a significant source for most US bases. In combination, uniformed and civilian geologists serving in a variety of roles to support American troops have located water supplies essential to the success of US military operations around the globe.

Abstract The United States Army has been a functioning entity for nearly 240 years and throughout those years has faced changing military threats. We focus here on when, where, and why military installations, primarily those of the Army, were created and placed on the landscape, and we examine some of the ways in which their situation changed as the country shifted from a domestic protection stance to a more internationalist projection-oriented operational philosophy. The 1790s, the 1890s, and the 1990s each presented challenges—but of very different types. Were we responding to external or internal threats? What were the needs of the era? Were they focused on materiel production, on leadership and training, on protecting our coastlines, on protecting travel routes within the country, or on preparing to project force hundreds or thousands of miles outside the United States? At one time, one or more of these differing concerns were the driving reasons behind the establishment of a military installation. The current “landscape” of installations reflects a response to these differing threats across our entire nation’s history. This is why the U.S. Defense Department has recently been reviewing the inventory of military bases, to determine if they are all still relevant and useful. Do we now have too many or too few installations? Or, are they in the wrong place to answer the current and emerging threats? Finally, what happens when an installation is believed to no longer be needed? When and how may an installation be converted to another life?

Abstract Despite the successful conclusion of the “War to end all wars” and the subsequent formation of the League of Nations, the implementation of the Treaty of Versailles proved unworkable because its basic premises were not based on a practical understanding of human nature and the need for adequate natural resources at the national level. With a revitalized Germany behind him by the late 1930s, Hitler was busy expanding his “Lebensraum” and being imitated by the leaders of Japan and Italy. Such actions rapidly upset the stability of the “Versailles World Order” concept. In view of this drift toward a new geo-war, Professor Richard M. Field noted in his presidential address to the American Geophysical Union on 30 April 1941: 1 From the dawn of history this method of conquest and colonization has led to the rise and fall of “master races” and imperial governments, equally aided and abetted by organized science and organized religion and organized trade…. Much as we may wish it otherwise, the true history of the rise of civilization is the history of organized science in which, until quite recently, the most important facts were either unmentioned or misinterpreted by historians. That is why “we learn from history that we do not learn from history.” This lack of historical understanding and a diplomatic inability to resolve the associated geopolitical problems then brought on a series of conflicts that would involve practically all of the world’s geophysicists. Looking back to 1940, one finds that this was

Abstract Arid regions present formidable challenges to the conduct of contemporary military operations. Fundamental geographic factors such as radiation balance, wind and dust, and unique terrain have affected the outcome of desert campaigns and battles throughout history. While the scientific community understands desert geography, the fundamental effects of environmental factors on military operations are rarely well known or understood. Some level of understanding is necessary to provide context for researchers solving military problems. The purpose of this paper is to offer a military context for the work in this volume. This study provides a brief summary of the influences selected environmental factors may have on modern military forces operating in hot desert environments. In particular, this research examines the effects of unique desert terrain, aeolian processes and dust, and radiation balance with regard to troops, equipment, and tactics; historical and modern examples illustrate these effects.