Meditations on the Way of the Warrior

A reader asks: "Sean, what is the Warrior Ethos?"

I chuckle as I recall a scene from Conan the Barbarian - during Conan's gladiator phase - where the Cimmerian is asked: "Conan, what are the greatest things in Life?"

His reply: "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the cries and lamentations of their women!"

Few moviegoers realize that this is an actual quote of one of the greatest warriors of all time; Genghis Khan.

There have already been some posts on STORMBRINGER regarding the Way of the Warrior:

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - (Part 1)

and

On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs (Continued)

I wore the War Suit for twenty-five years, and I continue to serve as a security professional. Perhaps it is time to further explore this theme . . .

DUTY - HONOR - COUNTRY

The Warrior walks the Way of Power, and with this power comes great responsibility. To the Warrior class, this responsibility is known as "Duty".

For the Warrior, every act of every waking moment is guided by Honor. Honor first . . . Honor last . . . Honor . . . always.

Luftwaffe fighter pilot Franz Stigler epitomized Honor in his encounter with B-17 pilot Charlie Brown during World War II

The Warrior serves. In ancient times, this service was to the tribe, the band of hunter-gatherers. Later, this service was to the King, or the feudal overlord; the Baron. In the modern era, this service is ultimately to the nation-state.

The Warrior is Loyal. Warriors perform their duty honorably at every level of our modern society; at community level as police, firefighters or other first-level responders; within the various state & national-level law enforcement and para-military organizations, the branches of the military - or as a private professionals, business leaders and the captains of industry - ultimately, duty to the nation trumps all. The Warrior must never betray his Country.

Considered amongst the greatest, most insightful American military leaders, both Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee took up arms against the United States. It must be remembered, however, that in their time a man's state was considered his country, and although Stonewall and Lee were not adherents of the Confederate cause, neither could bear going against their native Virginia.


The Warrior keeps his passions in check, never acts upon the impulse of his passions, except in the moment of actively engagement against the Threat. The Warrior channels the energy of his passion into selfless acts of service, into the driving force of physical endurance, and into outward displays of loyalty and respect to the Nation and its symbols, to the Honorable Dead, and to those who served before.

Green Berets of 10th Special Forces Group honoring World War II veterans of the Canada-America 1st Special Services Brigade

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The Warrior speaks Truthfully: to his leadership, to the Citizenry, and even to the Enemy, when representing the national leadership. The Warrior is not constrained to the Truth, however, when engaging in deliberate acts of ruse or deception, or psychological operations.

Although shrewd in his business dealings, the Warrior is an Honest Broker and a Fair Trader. The Warrior Class as a whole suffers when a single Warrior conducts himself dishonorably in barter with the Citizenry. This sentiment notwithstanding, the world is full of snakes, and the Warrior practices the ethic of "Trust, but Verify."

The days of Sack & Pillage are over; there are rules of war, codified in the Law of Land Warfare. Given the incredible lethality of modern war machines, and the professionalism of the Warrior Class, we conduct ourselves within this modern Code in order to minimize unnecessary suffering.

We treat Enemy prisoners within the Law of Land Warfare out of human decency, and to ensure humanitarian treatment of our own being held by the Enemy . . .








. . . whether or not the Enemy reciprocates:

American Prisoners of War in Japan, 1945

SS Reichsführer Himmler inspecting prisoners on the Eastern Front, 1943


The Warrior kills only when necessary, in the execution of legitimate duties. To kill indiscriminately, or outside the scope of duty, is unsanctioned murder.

To stray beyond these parameters one departs the Warrior Class and becomes of the criminal classes.









In a clandestine photograph smuggled out via underground operatives during World War II, an Australian pilot is summarily executed by an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army.

The German Wehrmacht conducts a mass execution of partisans, somewhere in Europe 1940-1944


PLANNING

Planning is a continual process; the Warrior always has a Plan, and the Warrior is always planning. Knowing that no plan remains intact once executed, the Warrior has an alternate plan - a Plan B - and an emergency plan - a "Go-to-Hell Plan."

"Be professional, be polite, and have a plan to kill everyone you meet." - Marine General James Mattis in Iraq.


The Principles of Patrolling are a good set of rules to guide you in your planning in all endeavors, civilian or military. They are found painted on Infantry barracks walls and posted on bulletin boards throughout the United States Army:


PLANNING

RECONNAISSANCE

SURVEILLANCE

CONTROL

COMMON SENSE


We will explore these concepts in detail, at a later time.


BE PREPARED

Knowing that the world is an evil place full of people who only wish to do him harm, the Warrior is never unarmed. A member of the Citizenry looks out the window and says, "Oh, it is raining; I must bring an umbrella." Whereas the Warrior looks out the window and thinks, "I don't know what's out there, I must carry something: an umbrella, a walking stick, a rolled-up newspaper - anything - so that my hands are not empty, should I encounter a Threat."

When circumstances preclude carrying a firearm, I carry one of these. If the distance is closed with speed and aggression, a collapsible baton will disarm and subdue an armed opponent.



VERSATILITY

The Warrior is not constrained by convention. There is a friction to Conflict; the Warrior adapts to fit the space and shape of the battlefield environment.

Years ago - another lifetime ago it seems - when I was a young Green Beret in Asia, my mentor explained: "The weapons of the modern-day ninja are the computer and the submachinegun."

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Like most of my peers, I knew nothing of computers, and an instinctive fear of the unknown gripped me. In the course of my self-education, however, I encountered Sun Tzu, the great Philosopher of War.

The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. First translated into French language by Jesuits in 1772, it very likely influenced Napoleon. Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, and General Douglas MacArthur claimed inspiration from the work.

Sun Tzu writes, "There is no difference between two armies tens of thousands strong meeting across a great battlefield, or two swordsmen facing each other in a duel."

I understood this to mean that a computer by itself is not evil or sinister, no more so than any tool or machine; it is simply a device that can be used to project power, as much as a submachinegun but perhaps more indirectly. Having arrived in the era of cyber-crime and cyber-sabotage, it is easier to understand this concept. The greater point is that the environment and the weaponry itself may change, but the Principles of War are always the same.


RESPECT THE ENEMY

The greatest folly in Conflict is for the Warrior to underestimate his opponent; and Conflict pervades every aspect of our lives. Sun Tzu also wrote: "Know your enemies and know yourself and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. But if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

In our business negotiations we apply this in seeking to know the other guy's hidden agenda. If you know your opponent's bottom line, you can quickly outflank him in negotiations or office politics.

To respect the Enemy means never to underestimate him. In modern warfare, this translates: "There aren't too many Million Dollar Men, but there are plenty of 25 cent bullets."

That little guy out there, squatting in the bush and living off rice and beans; he hates you and everything you stand for. Given half a chance, he can . . . and will . . . very realistically . . . KILL you.

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Take what I have written here and contemplate it. You will be tested - of this I can assure you.


STORMBRINGER SENDS

© 2011 Sean Linnane

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IN HIS OWN WORDS

General Vo Nguyen Giap leading a council of war during the planning phase of the Dien Bien Phu campaign, 1953.


The most relevant statement I could find that is actually attributable to General Giap was uttered in a 1989 interview with Morley Safer, as excerpted in The Vietnam War: An Encyclopedia of Quotations by Howard Langer (Greenwood Press, 2005, p. 318):


"We paid a high price (during the Tet offensive) but so did you [Americans) . . . not only in lives and materiel . . . Do not forget the war was brought into the living rooms of the American people . . . The most important result of the Tet offensive was it made you de-escalate the bombing, and it brought you to the negotiation table. It was, therefore, a victory . . ."


The war was fought on many fronts. At that time the most important one was American public opinion.

. . . and that's about the last word I want to dedicate to the matter - we've already given more than enough free publicity to a guy whose uniform features red stars, sickles and hammers - S.L.



Friday Bird HERE


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VO NGUYEN GIAP - DISCLAIMER

A reader commented that I should have run the post on Giap (below) through SNOPES. He claims that this is an internet urban legend, that it's not true.

While this may or may not be the case, one thing is certain; SNOPES is not a reliable source of information for the purpose of critiquing accuracy - they have a decidedly liberal slant on how they present "facts".

Let me work it - my source said he checked SNOPES beforehand, and I've heard this quote somewhere else, somewhere reputable. I will do the homework; in the meantime even if this is not a direct quote, I believe this is quite accurate; that Giap said words to this effect.


More on Giap, and the Art of War:

Sun Tzu

Historically, there have been a number of military philosophers and practitioners who spoke not only of a physical plane of war but also of the political, economic, and psychological (also known as moral) planes of war. Whereas Sun Tzu outlined five fundamentals of war, including weather and terrain, he also rated politics – or the wider context within which war is fought – as the first fundamental. Further, he included in his maxims “. . . to win a hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.”

General Vo Nguyen Giap

Providing more contemporary currency to those notions, General Vo Nguyen Giap, the brilliant North Vietnamese battlefield tactician and strategist, said:

". . . for us, there is no such thing as a single strategy. Ours is always a synthesis – simultaneously diplomatic, military and political. Which is why, quite clearly, the Tet Offensive had multiple objectives . . . And that was our biggest victory: to change the ideas of the United States. The Tet Offensive had been directed primarily at the people of South Vietnam, but . . . it affected the people of the United States more. Until Tet they thought they could win the war, but now they knew they could not. President Johnson was forced to decrease military activity and start to discuss with us around the table of how to end the war."






Today's STORMBRINGER Bird HERE


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SUN TZU: THE ART OF FIGHTING WITHOUT FIGHTING

When putting together the team, my current employer stated two prerquisites: prior service on a Special Forces Operational Detachment ‘Alpha’, and a working knowledge of the principles of Sun Tzu. When I began studying Sun Tzu - as a private in the 82d Airborne - the connection between this ancient general's philosophy and the modern corporate world mystified me. Nowadays it makes so much sense; the battlefield changes from forests and mountains and deserts to the corporate meeting rooms; swords and rifles are laid down for computers and . . . well, we still have use for firearms, but only for when we are physically defending corporate lives and property. - Sean Linnane


If the goal of the kingdom (or in this case, the corporation) is to survive and prosper, then what is the goal of its strategy? Sun Tzu offers this advice:

“Your aim must be to take All-under-Heaven intact. Thus your troops are not worn out and your gains will be complete. This is the art of offensive strategy.”


This is the over-arching principle of the great Chinese philosopher-general; the greatest victory is the one you win without having to fire a shot, i.e, you are so well-prepared on the pathway to war, that your enemy declines combat.




The great warrior / philosopher Bruce Lee describes his style as “the Art of Fighting Without Fighting” - that is, to achieve one’s objective without undue cost, or self-destruction.

MEDITATIONS ON THE ART OF DEFENSE . . .

"The unknowing try to defend everything at once, but the knowledgeable look at the main point only; they parry the worst blows and stand a little hurt if thereby they avoid a greater one. If you try to hold everything, you hold nothing." - Frederick the Great





The following is part of an ongoing series or articles & seminar presentations I do on Military Leadership Principles adapted for business owners and managers. The thoughts below were contributed by an old friend who has also been my mentor since the late 80's - S.L.

In business, as in war, the purpose of defensive operations is to buy time, hold terrain, facilitate other operations, preoccupy your adversary, and erode his resources. Your situation & circumstances will always differ; the principles always remain the same. Defending forces await the attacker's blow and defeat the attack by successfully deflecting it. Waiting for the attack is not a passive activity - leaders/managers should seek to strengthen their forces through training and provide no advantage to an adversary before hostile actions begin.


SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE:

o Is aggressive.

o Uses accurate / integrated direct fire - think "Counter-measures."

o Maximizes firepower, ability to maneuver, and leverage protection - think: "Keep your options open."

o Denies your adversary the ability to use leverage or to gain initiative.

o Contains the following characteristics:
- Preparation
- Effective monitoring and surveillance
- Flexible, adaptive, and exploit opportunities
- Fusion of command & control, technologies, and precision fire



To be ready, one MUST:

PREPARE:

o Study the surrounding terrain in great detail with complete understanding - Be knowledgable & totally aware of your operational environment.

o Continually rehearse (either mentally or physically) actions to be taken if an attack occurs whenever and wherever you are at any moment day or night. Have contingency plans, policies and written SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) in place, and make sure your management staff are aware of them.

o Preparations are continuous and in-depth (PACE - Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency).

o Ensure outer perimeter reconnaissance and both inner and outer surveillance are effective and continuous. Be aware of when you are being observed, and when your perimeter is being probed.

o Apply deception wherever feasible - Throw out red herrings; give your opposition false targets to go after.


TO WIN WITHOUT FIGHTING - this is the greatest victory - Sun Tzu


o Make yourself a 'Hard Target' - create the ability / appearance of being "too hard to do."

o Know your job and be prepared to perform it in every way - "Fate Favors the Prepared."

o Detect reconnaissance and surveillance - Know when you are being watched, when your organization is being probed.

o Give your adversary nothing of value that is within your sphere of influence.



- contributed by STORMRUNNER – the "Deacon of Doom", old friend and mentor of STORMBRINGER.

MISSION STATEMENT

STORMBRINGER provides direct reporting from military sources, analysis, cultural phenomena and unique anecdotes from all around our amazing modern world.

A long-term project of Team STORMBRINGER is to explore strategy and tactics, the principles and philosophy of conflict as applied to the dynamics of the marketplace and the modern corporate environment.

The writings and inspired quotes of the great Captains of History are presented: Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Julius Caeser, Von Clausewitz, Washington, Jackson, Rommel, Patton, Churchill, Giap, and more.

Occasional forays into spiritualism, the arts, travel and adventure round out the STORMBRINGER experience.

MIND OF THE ENEMY

"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles." - Sun Tzu




Perhaps it is a byproduct of the distance between America and the old world - not only across the oceans but a vast, yawning gulf between two very different cultures - that contributes to such a misunderstanding and ignorance of the people we are squaring off against in Afghanistan and the Middle East. To us this is a justifiable conflict, a righteous cause; it is a war of self-defense - they attacked us first. Indeed, it is their charismatic leader's stated goal that if they could have their way, they would kill each and every one of us.


The Islamist enemy is determined and committed to Jihad. He is willing to give his life for the cause of martyrdom. How do we fight such an enemy? Or rather, how do we prevail against an enemy that no matter how hard we clobber him, will pop up again and again and again like Whack-A-Mole?

Short of committing ourselves to a Hundred Years War, let us stand back and try to look at the world from the mind of an Afghani or Pathan.



Your average tribesman of the Kybher region probably has about one year of classroom schooling. He is practically illiterate; if he can read he has read only one book in his life, and he continues to read it everyday. He lives in a mud hut or a tent. If he's lucky he will see the age of 45. A skilled tradesman - a carpenter, or an arc welder, makes about $15 a month (OK maybe the war economy has taken off: $25 a month).

To him, we are Crusaders. He listens to what the mullah tells him, and has no reason to disbelieve what he hears: the Crusaders have invaded his homeland with the intent of corrupting the purity of his women. His village has a satellite TV where he watches American string bikini girls on Spring Break in Cancun throwing hotdogs at each other. To him this is like watching a pornographic movie.


Every villager in those parts has a father, or a brother, or a cousin (or a MOTHER) who was killed by the Crusaders' sinister Predator-launched Hellfire missiles. Many of extended families have lost their homes; such is the cowardly way the dastardly Crusaders wage war. When you think about it, is it any wonder they are inspired to go the jihad way?


But IS there another way? Can we turn this thing around? Or are we committed to a Hundred Years war in the Graveyard of Empires?

There is talk of negotiations with the Taliban . . . at the surface this seems madness; how can one negotiate with a committed fanatic whose goal is to martyr himself and gain the 72 virgins in Paradise?

Think about it; we don't talk to the leadership. They are isolated, and half of them are dead. We continue to hunt them ruthlessly. We talk to the the mid-level troops, the rank and file who are sick of the Predator coming and laying a FGM-172 SRAW (Short-Range Assault Weapon) egg on their families; the guys have gotten their jihad on and survived, and now just want to get on in life.


It's the ultimate carrot & stick. We buy them out, offer them a leadership slot in the new hierarchy. The system's as old as the Roman Empire, and it worked for them . . . they called it the Pax Romana, and it lasted five hundred years . . .

SUN TZU on SPIES and SECRET AGENTS

Sun Tzu deals with employment and use of spies in Art of War, Chapter XIII:

“Be subtle! be subtle! And use your spies for every kind of warfare.”

“(On) the use of spies . . . there are five classes: Local spies; Inward spies; Converted spies; Doomed spies; Surviving spies . . . . . . Inward spies (are) making use of officials of the enemy.”

The battle for votes that was fought by ACORN in city streets last summer and by lawyers in Minnesota this spring is in its final phase in the halls of the Capitol. The leaders of the Democratic Party fought skillfully, and are now in full control of the remaining branches of government. Battle lines are drawn in the U.S. Senate, where votes are counted on the fingers of one hand.

Despite the massive tax-and-spend bills that were ramroded through Congress without having been read, pundits now say the "cap-and-trade" climate change and healthcare bills are too extreme to pass, and will be shot down in the Senate. The reality is the contest is too close to call. The question is not will the bills pass - I'm afraid they will - but just how far Team Obama is willing to go to achieve their aims. The Chicago political steamroller has come this far – why should they let a few U.S. Senators stand in their way?

The Art and Science of politics was written by Machiavelli. Illicit sex and drugs flow like milk and honey in Washington D.C; just think how easy it could be to ensnare a U.S. Senator in a blackmail scheme, thereby securing their vote on a critical issue.

Any politician must be constantly on guard against his own moral weaknesses, lest agents of the opposition take advantage of them. Succumbing to temptation even once makes a political figure vulnerable to compromise. In many cases, careful surveillance alone is enough to compromise an individual.

The Senator thus entrapped has the option of maintaining his privileged position as long as he votes a certain way on a few critical bills. The alternative is political ruin - resignation in disgrace or defeat at the next general election, to be followed by divorce and financial ruin.

The list of politicians disgraced by recent sex scandals is lengthy. Of course blackmail is illegal; so is stuffing ballot boxes. But don't expect to read anything like this in the press; they are willing accomplices. Consider how John Edward's affair was ignored by all except the National Enquirer (!); yet any Republican Senator's transgression is breaking news.



“To Betray, One Must First Belong” – US Dept of Defense Counter-Intelligence Truism.

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Team STORMBRINGER contributor VA Shepard wrote this post - S.L.
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HER KUNG FU IS VERY GOOD

"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

Sarah Palin defied conventional wisdom with her resignation, declaring "we are attacking in a different direction." Those who think she has sunk her political career by resigning before her term ends underestimate her appeal. The brilliance of this gutsy move eludes those who think small, or short-term.

Sarah Palin outflanked her opponents in one fell swoop. Her move disarmed the attackers who piled on frivolous lawsuits with intent to hamstring her. Knowing she could have easily won re-election, she chose instead to take a course that leaves her opposition 100% ineffective.

This is classic Sun Tzu, classic guerrilla warfare:

“Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.”

There is a reason Sarah Palin occupies #1 slot on the Democrat Hate Machine’s Enemies List: they fear her. Sarah Palin represents the single viable threat the Republicans possess against the Democrats' solid grip on power.

Once Palin determined that she would not run for re-election, she turned her back on the marsh she was mired in, and changed direction. She is now moving to higher ground. This was not the decision of a timid, or small-minded person, regardless of what her detractors wish us to think.

Sarah Palin can now continue to build her image. As a private citizen, Code Pink, MoveOn.org and ACORN are helpless to do anything about her. She can run for Senate, and then run for the Presidency after that.

This is political Jiu-Jitsu, brilliant on so many levels.

A final word from the master of the Art of War:

“To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.”