Our Army's come a long way since bayonets and signal fires in churches.
Today's Army is a lean, mean, high-tech machine, armed with the latest civilian and military technology and not afraid to use it.
10: Communications
From satellite phones to email, the Army manages a sophisticated communications network spanning the entire world.
With encrypted signals directing missiles and weapons, secure communications informing commanders, and high-tech systems intercepting enemy signals, the Army's communications system is diverse and complex.
It's also critical to getting just about anything done, so jobs in communications aren't going away anytime soon.
9: IT (Information Technology)
You think it's tough keeping the average office's software and equipment running smoothly?
Try managing a whole host of massive computer systems filled with high-tech, job-specific, proprietary software - some old, some new, and all of it important. Since some of those computers manage weapons systems and other dangerous things, it's really critical to keep things going like clockwork. No pressure or anything.
8: Engineering/construction
Military life just isn't like the old days, when armies met on battlefields to duke it out.
Today's battles happen in inaccessible places: remote mountain ranges, treacherous terrain, and busy urban streets in third world countries. Who makes it all manageable?
The engineers and builders who construct roads, buildings, bridges and the like. They do it all quickly and efficiently, sometimes relying on tried and true methods and other times using state-of-the-art materials...but always counting on some serious engineering smarts.
7: Video Game Designer
That's right, video games.
Who knew they could be so educational? When it comes to war, it turns out that video games are so much more than just fun and games. Instead, they've become high-tech training tools for soldiers just getting used to battlefield conditions. With some small modifications to the very successful America's Army video game, the Army got itself a game that could teach newcomers how to deal with urban warfare situations and to get them used to combat scenarios.
All this before they even go to basic training. Kind of like a study guide, only with more shooting.
6: Cyber-terrorism specialist
Still think all wars are fought on the ground, with guns and missiles?
Think again. The Army's intelligence unit is ready to tackle all the battles of the future, cyberterrorism included. To fight the hackers that threaten to take down entire countries, the Army has geared up its own force of cybersleuths, recruiting some top computer minds to get the job done.
Good to know they're on our side.
5: Mechanic
Mechanics always get to play with the best toys.
In the civilian world, they get to mess around with fast cars that cost as much as a house; in the Army, they get to fix tanks and helicopters that cost as much as an entire town.
Keeping those million (or billion) dollar toys up and running takes a lot of skill. It also takes someone who's willing to always keep learning, since new technology and new models drop into the battlefield on a regular basis. From Abrams tanks to Lakota helicopters, someone's got to keep them ship shape.
4: Weapons Systems
It's not your father's machine gun. Today's front-line Soldiers have access to the newest, most modern weaponry available.
From grenade launchers to machine guns, the Army's newest weapon systems are more responsive and easier to handle than in the past, with laser tracking and lightweight construction.
New remotely controlled weapons even allow Soldiers to use cameras to see their targets while shooting from the safe confines of an armored vehicle... and to further protect themselves, US Soldiers are making the rounds in new high-tech body armor designed to protect Soldiers from common battlefield injuries, offering a perfect fit and extra protection around vital organs.
3: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Pilot
It's hard to get more futuristic than unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
These unmanned planes are straight out of science fiction...and just because they aren't manned doesn't mean they're not piloted. Someone's got to play with these super high-tech versions of the remote controlled airplanes we knew as kids.
The future is bright, since the Army is looking to expand its drone program. New models are said to be able to hover like helicopters, transmitting video while pilots sit safely miles away.
2: Robotics
From dismantling roadside IEDs to combing through rubble to search for survivors, robotics are the high-tech future of today's Army.
They let today's troops get into places that are too dangerous for human beings to go and may one day go a step further, with robotic exoskeletons offering protection to Soldiers. Very sci-fi.
As for work, there are Army jobs doing everything from designing robots to using them in the field. Current prototypes can already navigate challenging terrain and make some basic decisions all on their own, but that doesn't mean there isn't a place for a human touch.
For now, the Army still needs an abundance of humans to design these machines and to make sure they're making the right judgment calls.
1: Doctor/medic
Army doctors and medics are at the leading edge of medical technologies and breakthroughs.
Today, more and more soldiers are surviving wounds that, in past wars, would have surely cost them their lives. Soldiers receive care faster and more efficiently than ever before in hospital-like settings, even while in the middle of a warzone.
And once Soldiers have made it back home, doctors now have a host of new tools to help injured soldiers heal and function, from groundbreaking prosthetics for amputees to new treatments for traumatic brain injury patients.
From high-tech gauze to cutting edge portable hospitals, battlefield medicine truly is at the forefront of modern medical science.
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