The armed forces of a state are its government sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces. Armed force is the use of armed forces to achieve political objectives.
The study of the use of Armed Forces is called military science. Broadly speaking, this involves considering offense and defense at three "levels": strategy, operational art, and tactics. All three levels study the application of the use of force in order to achieve a desired objective.
Armed Forces (1979) was Elvis Costello's third album, his second with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. The album originally had the working title Emotional Fascism. It was produced by Nick Lowe at Eden Studios in West London.
Initial pressings of the album in the UK & US included a promotional three-song 7" 33⅓ rpm EP, Live at Hollywood High, recorded on June 4 1978. The live tracks, also produced by Nick Lowe, are "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives," which are included on the Rykodisc reissue and on the Rhino bonus disk along with six more songs from the Hollywood High gig. The UK edition also included 4 postcards featuring pictures of the band.
In 2000 Q magazine placed Armed Forces at number 45 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
