War Games

Synopsis: A group of archeologists discovers the rambling diary of a tortured soul slowly going mad. There’s no consistent logic, coherent meaning, or even an apparent chronological order to the bizarre episodes scrawled across the tattered book’s pages. But nonetheless, the adventurers can’t help but digest the entire manifesto cover to cover. In The Man in a White Corolla, our unhinged protagonist was in uniform, sent away to a faraway war zone.

Now he’s back home, but still in uniform. This time around, he managed to cobble together a chapter that was close to lucid from beginning to end, quite an accomplishment for him. It’s a brief reflection on leadership, humility, and staying grounded in what’s in front of you. Is this really a reliable source for “staying grounded”…? Don’t lose the battle before you even leave the drawing board, as the old saying goes.

You will never see grown men power trip harder than in an imaginary operation commanding armies that don’t exist.

There are many examples of this little mantra in my head (If someone copyrighted it already, excuse me, but I don’t really care), but there is one story in particular that sticks out.

A simulated headquarters.

Simulated Allies.

Simulated foes.

I write a simulated press release.

“Explosions rocked the densely packed buildings in Kabul,” I wrote frantically.

Indeed a disaster for the fictitious citizenry of the fictional Kabul.

A good press release that no doubt caught the attention of many alarmed citizens, American and international alike, in this fictional universe. I was pleased with myself. But someone else was not quite so pleased.

The portly sergeant, the “commander” who is respected in this pretend world of make-believe. He objected quite intensely.

“You are editorializing,” He claimed, referring to my colorful language.

I Googled “editorializing right there. “To make comments or express opinions rather than just report the news.”

“No!” The portly sergeant persisted. “Hard news is supposed to be boring!”

Yes, a cognitively functioning human actually said this.

I told him that, boring or not, that’s not what “editorializing” means.

The portly sergeant never forgave me for that one.

My reinforcements have arrived.

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Suggested Reading

I’m not sure what books I’d recommend for this particular topic, so I’ll go with a couple of examples of people with a proper understanding of warfare – books that I enjoyed when I first read them and enjoyed more as I grew to understand these topics better. The first is Patton’s autobiography, the classic War As I Knew It.

The second is The Soldier’s Load and the Mobility of a Nation, George Marshall’s book that is essentially a novella-length Cliff Notes version of his studies of World War II and the Korean War. An excellent book that is actually on the Marine Corps Commandant’s reading list… not that anyone pays the slightest bit of attention to it.

Lastly, I recommend Platoon, widely considered to be the definitive Vietnam War movie. Platoon is the brainchild of Oliver Stone, an infantryman who deployed to Vietnam – his screenplay is a brutal rebuttal of John Wayne’s 1968 propaganda film The Green Berets.

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Ian Kummer

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