Military Open Science: Beyond the Walls of Doctrine
- Panagiotis Tripontikas
- 7 Ιουν
- διαβάστηκε 2 λεπτά
As I keep reflecting on the concept of Military Open Science, I want to clarify what it is and what it is not. It is not a concept of theory. It is a concept about decisions. And about the kind of Armed Forces we wish to leave behind. There are terms which sound familiar and yet, they have meanings as different as night from day.
Military Science and Military Open Science.
Both begin with the same letter.
Both wear the same uniform.
But only one of them goes outside the gates.
The Fortress and the Window
Military Science is the fortress. It explores the study of war. It sharpens doctrine, examines weapons, simulates outcomes. It occurs in wargames and exercises, in staff colleges and secure compounds. It has one goal: to win. And it has to. Because as long as man has war to contend with, Military Science will have to exist.
But Military Open Science is not a bunker. It's an open window. It does not seek victory it seeks knowledge. It does not refine tactics it refines observation. It does not keep secrets it shares truths that need to be known.
It uses the same tools sonars, satellites, sensors but to a new purpose:
To preserve biodiversity.
To record the presence of life, not its demise.
To support the citizen, not suppress the adversary.
Military Open Science is not a discipline a disposition
Open Science in the Military is not a spin-off of military science. It is a disposition. A way of thinking, acting, and working together — in humility.
Where Military Science asks: "How do we win the next war?"
Military Open Science dares to ask: "How can we avoid the next collapse?"
And that is not a strategy. It is an ethical issue.
On Silence and Contribution
Silence is survival in a submarine. But silence is absence in science. Military Open Science breaks that silence not with noise, but with data. By making observations about marine mammals. By mapping detailed ecosystems onto nautical charts. By using presence not to overwhelm, but to protect. It does not take apart the Armed Forces. It makes them more moral.
For when the warship declines to anchor over a Posidonia meadow or when the officer realizes that "this is a NATURA 2000 Marine protected area", then we know we are no longer waging war against nature, but alongside it.
A Last Thought
We used to prepare for the next war. At the same time, we must prepare for the next collapse — ecological, systemic, civilizational. If Military Science was born to respond to danger, Military Open Science is called upon to respond to vulnerability. And if greatness remains in power, perhaps its greatest expression is the choice not to use it — but to share. Because the greatest manifestation of strength is to protect that which cannot speak.
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