Comments on: Storytelling needs to be practiced, just like flying or marksmanship

By: My Name Is Eli

My Name Is Eli — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 14:37:32 +0000

For sure a strong case for installing “trained” “story tellers” in the MI shed to ensure the Generals act on the “correct” story. The Soviet Union had a name for these folks and installed them everywhere — for the safety of the Homeland, of course.

By: McChuck

McChuck — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 14:23:16 +0000

I have, unfortunately, a bit too much experience at this topic. Military intelligence officers are college graduates. Have you seen what quality of people universities have produced over the last 30 years? The average MI officer is slightly more intelligent than average, but that isn’t saying much. And most Army officers serving in an MI role aren’t MI branch – they’re seconded infantry or armor officers, who have no training, interest or talent in the field, when they’re not actively hostile to the entire concept.

In Iraq (2004), the MI officer for the unit I supported spent 8 hours a day playing ping pong. I’m neither kidding nor exaggerating. We, an independent team of four (plus the ‘terp), organized and conducted the intelligence gathering for a quarter of the land are of Iraq. On a budget I had to fund out of pocket, because despite the billions being tossed around, there was no money allocated for intelligence operations. Even posted bounties had no funding behind them! That’s the ‘quality’ of the MI officer profession.

By: Freddo

Freddo — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 20:28:08 +0000

As intelligence officers it would be a bridge too far to write down that the current top brass and political leadership cannot handle the truth, both in a there-would-be-no-math/history sense, as well as Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. So the preferred policy gets packaged in fresh fertilizer garnished with a few convenient facts.

(Not restricted to the West. No doubt Putin was promised a May 1st victory parade too.)

By: Michael van der Riet

Michael van der Riet — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 07:28:57 +0000

Narratives: This is all very interesting, while simultaneously being very vague. They started telling a story then took cover in a thicket of meaningless generalities. Why not simply give an example of the compelling narrative that they propose? But then the authors are members of the oxymoronic military intelligence. What did we expect.

By: Freddo

Freddo — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 16:55:48 +0000

I can highly recommend https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/127518/distant-plain from the COIN series of games by Volko Ruhnke.