How empires and officer training spread military traditions

How many core military traditions can be traced through today's armed forces?

Perhaps eighteen at most, because empires, shared technology, and officer training spread a limited set of institutional traditions.

French, Italian, Swiss, and Spanish institutions retain recognisable national traditions, while Indian practice combines British, Soviet, and older indigenous influences. The discussion estimates that the world's armed forces may derive from no more than about eighteen broad traditions. Empires spread institutional models across many states, and shared technology encouraged further convergence. Officer education also changed how borrowed practices were understood and applied rather than simply copying them unchanged.