military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

, a compound is a type of

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

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 A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

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 those who want to protect against threats to themselves or their property. A number of survivalists own fortified compound-like structures as a means of protection in case civilization breaks down or their government becomes abusive. The term ''compound'' is also used to refer to an unfortified enclosure, especially in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. See

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 (e.g. the Kennedy Compound for the Kennedy family). The enclosure may be a ...

Specific group usage

Insurgent, militant, and terrorist groups alike have been known to maintain their own compounds which commonly feature training camps. The

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

, various

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

factions, The

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps (abbreviated ACMTC; also known as the Holy Tribal Nation, the Free Love Ministries, or the Life Force Team) is a militaristic Christian fundamentalist new religious movement. The ministry, fou ...

and

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

are some of the organizations who use such. Large

outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle), choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate fre ...

s will typically use a compound for a particular chapter's headquarters. In motorcycle subculture, these are commonly referred to as "clubhouses". Many new religious movement organizations and cults have used compounds to facilitate their own privatized practices or activities. Additionally, they can serve as a residency for followers of that particular commune.

Mount Carmel Center The Mount Carmel Center was a large compound building used by the Branch Davidians religious group located near Axtell, Texas, 20 miles north-east of Waco. The Branch Davidians were a breakaway sect from Davidian Seventh Adventists, established by ...

Tama-Re The Tama-Re compound in Putnam County, Georgia (a.k.a. "Kodesh", "Wahannee", "The Golden City", "Al Tamaha") was an Egyptian-themed set of buildings and monuments established in 1993 on 476 acres near Eatonton by the Nuwaubian Nation. This wa ...

YFZ Ranch The YFZ Ranch, or Yearning for Zion Ranch, was a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) community of as many as 700 people, located near Eldorado in Schleicher County, Texas, United States. In April 2014, the State o ...

, and

Gold Base Gold Base (also variously known as Gold, Golden Era Productions, Int Base, or Int) is the ''de facto'' international headquarters of the Church of Scientology, located north of San Jacinto, California, United States, about from Los Angeles. The ...

are some of the most notable of these. Due to their offensive imagery and paraphernalia, large

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

groups will operate secluded compounds that can serve as a headquarters for a certain organization. In this particular movement, they are also used to hold gatherings and serve as venues for

Nazi punk __NOTOC__ A Nazi punk is a neo-Nazi who is part of the punk subculture. The term also describes the related music genre, which is sometimes also referred to as hatecore. Nazi Punk music generally sounds like other forms of punk rock, but diffe ...

Rock Against Communism Rock Against Communism (RAC) was the name of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and has since become the catch-all term for music with racist lyrics as well as a specific genre of rock music derived ...

and

White power music White power music is music that promotes white nationalism. It encompasses various music styles, including rock, country, experimental music and folk.Messner, Beth A., Art Jipson, Paul J. Becker and Bryan Byers. 2007. "The Hardest Hate: A Soci ...

concerts. The most famous of these would be the now-defunct

Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi, white supremacist organization that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group i ...

compound in

Hayden Lake, Idaho Hayden Lake is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. Located in the northern portion of the state, it is considered a suburb of the city of Coeur d'Alene. Its population was 574 at the 2010 census. The city was named after the near ...

Other examples

Murphy Ranch The Murphy Ranch is a ranch built in Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles in the 1930s by Winona and Norman Stephens, who were sympathizers of the anti-semitic, white supremacist Silver Legion of America. The owner of record in 1933 was Jessie M. Murphy. ...

- a now-defunct compound that belonged to the

Silver Legion of America The Silver Legion of America, commonly known as the Silver Shirts, was an underground American fascist and Nazi sympathizer organization founded by William Dudley Pelley and headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. History Pelley was a form ...

; designed for the group's Nazi activities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during WWII. *The

Knights of the KKK The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Catho ...

currently operate a compound within

Zinc, Arkansas Zinc is a town near the east-central edge of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 92 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area. A chapter of the Ku Klux Klan operates in Zinc. History Z ...

. *The headquarters of

Imperial Klans of America The Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKA) is a white supremacist, white nationalist, neo-Nazi paramilitary organization. Until the late 2000s, it was the second largest Klan group in the United States, and the largest at o ...

consists of a heavily guarded 28-acre compound in

Dawson Springs, Kentucky Dawson Springs is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Hopkins County, Kentucky, Hopkins and Caldwell County, Kentucky, Caldwell counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the populati ...

. *

Elohim City Elohim City'' Elohim'' is a Hebrew word usually translated as "God", sometimes "Gods" because in Hebrew most plural masculine nouns end in ''–im''. (also known as Elohim City Inc. and Elohim Village) is a private community in Adair County, Ok ...

* Bab al-Azizia *

Camp Nordland Camp Nordland was a resort facility located in Andover Township, New Jersey. From 1937 to 1941, this site was owned and operated by the German American Bund, which sympathized with and propagandized for Nazi Germany in the United States. This re ...

Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad Osama bin Laden's compound, known locally as the Waziristan Haveli ( ur, , Wazīristān Havelī, Waziristan Mansion), was a large, upper-class house within a walled compound used as a safe house for militant Islamist Osama bin Laden, who was s ...

Camp Siegfried Camp Siegfried, a summer camp which taught Nazi ideology, was located in Yaphank, New York, on Long Island. It was owned by the German American Bund, an American Nazi organization devoted to promoting a favorable view of Nazi Germany, and was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compound (Fortification) Fortifications by type

Specific group usage

Other examples

See also

References