Thursday, September 25, 2008

So Say We All

Present at the conference are a group of people I first met last March on my first visit (and TDY) here. Among them is my friend Francis, one of the smartest army officers I have met. Period. He is assigned to Afghanistan. This would be the last time, for the foreseeable future, to see each other given the impending end of tour in October.

Francis writes an occasional newsletter/missive, distributed exclusively via email, called “The Litany” which is bitingly funny if you 1) are in the military, and 2) know anything anything about military planning. Having only been a planner for the past year some of the dialog transcends my poor understanding but, given Francis’ excellent writing style, the gist is always clear.

Many of his colleagues have told him to turn it into a book. Already at twelve chapters, The Litany is well over one hundred single-spaced pages long. Reading it has taught me a bit about what is means to be a planner, what to avoid, how to compensate for bureaucratic inefficiencies, how to look at operations, how a well-written order should look, and how to stay sane. He usually ends each chapter with the phrase, "So say we all," which is homage to Battlestar Galactica. He also is a fellow blogger.

Thanks, brother. Stay safe.

2 comments:

CKD said...

I FREAKED out when I read the title of this post. I love BSG!!!

decrepitude said...

There is a strange sense of denouement that I feel after all this - and it's maybe the most disconcerting thing about being in and around the military - you get to know people you truly wonder if you'll get to see again.

The great thing about the Internet, of course, is that there are always ways to stay in touch with the people you may not be able to see again for a while.

It's worth noting that Battlestar Galactica is literally the only TV show I watch.

So say we all.