“The patriot volunteer, fighting for his country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth”  

– American Confederate general Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson

Though this may be argued, historically, it has been far from being the case that men and women in arms serving in their country’s army were doing so voluntarily. At least in the case of Europe, the bulk of the forces deployed for defensive or offensive purposes were levied peasants, oath-bound nobles, hired mercenaries, or conscripted citizens. These examples are a far cry from today’s European armies, which, for the most part, consist of a professional staff made up of volunteers. There have also been substantial changes felt in how military personnel have been utilised, both on and off the battlefield, ranging from a mix of fodder assisting trained professionals, to substantial increases in officer count, to technicians operating in and out of the line of fire, some of them being hired as corporate warriors. This led to shifts being felt throughout the societies those armies defend and continue to evolve to this very day.