Is having a large military funded by mandatory public taxes a form of socialism?

Absolutely. By definition a socialist enterprise is owned and operated by the government.

The simple test is this. If the employees are getting a government pay check, then their enterprise is government owned and operated...socialist. In my 24 years in the Navy, my paycheck was a government paycheck. In the US, the armed forces and the postal service are socialist enterprises.

There are others, like city owned (government) power grids and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). You see the governments that own the means to produce and distribute goods and services don't need to be Federal governments to be socialist.

Lest you misunderstand, a nation might be called a socialist nation but with some possible exceptions (like N. Korea) none is totally socialist. Even China owes about 80% of it national income to the private sector and the UK, which many call a socialist nation, derives about 70% of its income from the private sector.

On the flip side, the US, which many call the most capitalist of all the nations, has it's socialist enterprises...the armed forces and the postage service are but a few of them. In truth, most nations have a hybrid economy...a bit of that and a bit of this.

No, no it is not.

Not really. It is more capitalism because of the funding aspect to it. 

No. socialism is a type of economy in which the means of production are owned collectively, and operated for meeting needs rather than maximising profit. In Socialism, miners get paid more per hour than doctors

Well, no. But according to the average conturd's definition of socialism - yes.

I bet you are chatting up tribecca belle, that sounds just like her nonsense...

Nope its for defense ,The Goverment does  not own  the Jet and   Tank Factorys . 

Nope................

Yes. But, so is public transportation and free high school.