In military science

Military science

Military science is the process of translating national defence policy to produce military capability by employing military scientists, including theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and military personnel responsible for...

, a compound is a type of fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 made up of walls or fences surrounding several buildings in the center of a large piece of land. The walls can either serve the purpose of being tall, thick, and impenetrable, in which case they would be made of wood, stone, or some other like substance; or dangerous to attempt to scale, in which case they could be made of barbed wire

Barbed wire

Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...

 or electrified. Compounds can be designed to double as living spaces and military structures in the middle of hostile territory or as a military area within a country's territory; they are also used by the extremely wealthy, powerful, paranoid

Paranoia

Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...

 or criminal to protect against threats to themselves or their property.

A number of survivalists own fortified compound-like structures as a means of protection for when they perceive that civilization has broken down or that their government has become abusive.

The term compound is also used to refer to an unfortified enclosure, especially in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. See compound (enclosure)

Compound (enclosure)

Compound when applied to a human habitat refers to a cluster of buildings in an enclosure, having a shared or associated purpose, such as the houses of an extended family...

.

See also

• Stockade
  Stockade
  A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
  
  
• Boma (enclosure)
  Boma (enclosure)
  A boma is a livestock enclosure, a stockade or kind of fort, or a district government office. The term is used in many parts of eastern, central and southern Africa and is incorporated into many African languages as well as colonial varieties of English, French and German.As a livestock enclosure,...
  
  
• Compound (enclosure)
  Compound (enclosure)
  Compound when applied to a human habitat refers to a cluster of buildings in an enclosure, having a shared or associated purpose, such as the houses of an extended family...
  
  
• gated community
  Gated community
  In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...