Discussion on:

U.S. military enlists smartphones, iPads

I thought that Apple was against the use of any of its technology for
military applications.

This could be great in disaster relief, following an earthquae or
tsunami. Soliders could process rescuees/evacuees easily then
book them onto a chopper or other transport.

The costs of the evacuation could be measured.

In a battlefield context, troops could signal what price they wished
to pay for movement - demand responsive battlespace transit.

Oh hang on - that is what I described in my patent application
from July 2006! (USPTO 11/485,164)

http://www.texxi.com

1st, this isn't about Apple doing military specific R&D, but the Army itself, and 3rd party vendors such as Harris, developing apps for existing Apple products. The Army is just another buyer of the iPad. 2nd, there's a difference between offering your wares up to the highest bidder vs making them available to the armed forces of your own country.