Friday, December 16, 2011

Developing A 5000 Year Old Mind

Jay Luvaas, the great American and Civil War historian, once said, "There is no excuse among professional officers for not having a 5000 year old mind." What he meant was across the sweep of recorded time, the literature of war lays at our feet nearly the sum total of man's warfare experience. In these works, there are lessons to be found that provide guideposts for virtually every challenge or dilemma we may encounter on the modern battlefield; new technologies notwithstanding.

General John R. Allen
United States Marine Corps

2 comments:

Justin Rogers ENS, USN (1170) said...

We can open our aperture to other cultures/ways of thinking by traveling! I love to travel (one of my big interests). If you have a short attention span and reading doesn't work so well for you (or you just like non-fiction), traveling may be the way to get your 5000 year old mind! It's a thrilling investment with no diminishing returns!

Anonymous said...

Having experienced Gen Allen's 4 hour lecture on the battle of Antietam, I can vouch for his 5000 year old mind.