Military

I have been working with the National Defense University for the past week. Besides the course itself, intended for high level African officers, the contact with the military is interesting. What possible interest can a thinking man derive from daily contacts with the military , you may ask? Is military philosophy to philosophy what military music is to music?
The answer is: plenty.
The officers I meet, retired and active duty, are all experienced individuals with in depth knowledge of the world. They have been posted in the far flung foxholes of the American Empire and many have a profound knowledge of their environment.
In the course of the last two days, we had the privilege of visiting parts of Quantico, the headquarters of the US Marine Corps. We had lectures from senior officers and senior NCO's, followed by Q&A with officers and NCO's. We heard the usual passwords about Honor, Duty, and Nation, with all their positive and negative connotations. But we generally faced very courageous people, many of whom have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, with highly sophisticated specializations, and , on the whole, very down to earth. I was not entirely surprised since I live in a neighborhood of Northern Virginia where most residents work for the 10 mile distant Pentagon.
During the various presentations, I could not help but think of Plato, who, in the Republic, carves a role in the City (polis), for the military , in charge of defending our lives and property.
Of course, my observations have not been linked to the current conflict in the Middle East, nor to the different policies of "preventive wars" or "total military supremacy" of the current administration. The officers and NCO's I met are the actors of a drama they have not written. Their acting has a bearing on the last acts of the play though.
On the last day we were given MRE's, an interesting culinary experience, and the opportumity to shoot diverse weapons (M16, F9) as well as walking through an obstacle course in the dark , equipped with night vision goggles.
The most interesing lecture I heard was about a new policy in the Corps, destined to equip the Marines with cultural knowledge, including languages, of a certain number of hot spot regions of the world, where they might find themselves going forward. The total ignorance of the Middle East and the naive idea that giving foreigners our culture was a great gift, are a great part of the trouble the US find themselves in the world today. But then again, the same ignorance cost them victory in Vietnam 30 years ago.
Next, I will jot down some reflections on Africa.