Holy, holy, HOLY ****. I just watched "The Men Who Stare At Goats", and then I googled "First Earth Battalion", and found what's supposed to be their concept paper. You have to read it to believe it. I cannot believe the military funded this crap at one point in time.
According to Wikipedia, "A number of Channon’s ideas on training were investigated by the Pentagon, and the First Earth Battalion had over 800 officers and bureaucrats on its mailing list, including eight generals and an undersecretary of defense."
http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_channon_0200.htm
An exerpt:
INTELLIGENT INITIATIVE
In the martial arts, one learns a number of possible countermoves against different types of possible enemies. These practice battles are done over and over until they become instinct. Likewise in the Earth Battalion all plausible engagements are war-gamed until each soldier has the routine cold. In this way the battalion can operate in the absence of commands from its leaders, who may be out of touch, because of the new realities of modern warfare.
[A chart compares "martial art stances" (e.g., prepare left, block left, en garde, prepare right) to a flowchart reading:]
If you are overrun -- move to the nearest road junction, take control of the buildings, wait for his towed artillery, destroy all you can… till you have lost an offensive punch, then exfiltrate [sneak out] or surrender to save life.
PEOPLE
All warrior monks, but an interdependence of New Age skills as well.
[The graphic shows the following skills, all emanating from a central Spirit Wizard]
Spirit wizard
Meditation leader
Martial arts wizard
Nutritionist herbalist
Vexillographer (flags and banners)
Cinematographer
Old tapes
Holographer
Printer
Minstrels
Video technoid
Satellite technoid
Laser technoid
General systems theorist
Physicist
Futurist
Builder
Conservationist
Indian tracker [sic]
What a weird historical anomaly. I really don't know what else to say.
According to Wikipedia, "A number of Channon’s ideas on training were investigated by the Pentagon, and the First Earth Battalion had over 800 officers and bureaucrats on its mailing list, including eight generals and an undersecretary of defense."
http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_channon_0200.htm
An exerpt:
Quote:
INTELLIGENT INITIATIVE
In the martial arts, one learns a number of possible countermoves against different types of possible enemies. These practice battles are done over and over until they become instinct. Likewise in the Earth Battalion all plausible engagements are war-gamed until each soldier has the routine cold. In this way the battalion can operate in the absence of commands from its leaders, who may be out of touch, because of the new realities of modern warfare.
[A chart compares "martial art stances" (e.g., prepare left, block left, en garde, prepare right) to a flowchart reading:]
If you are overrun -- move to the nearest road junction, take control of the buildings, wait for his towed artillery, destroy all you can… till you have lost an offensive punch, then exfiltrate [sneak out] or surrender to save life.
PEOPLE
All warrior monks, but an interdependence of New Age skills as well.
[The graphic shows the following skills, all emanating from a central Spirit Wizard]
Spirit wizard
Meditation leader
Martial arts wizard
Nutritionist herbalist
Vexillographer (flags and banners)
Cinematographer
Old tapes
Holographer
Printer
Minstrels
Video technoid
Satellite technoid
Laser technoid
General systems theorist
Physicist
Futurist
Builder
Conservationist
Indian tracker [sic]