Chapter 24
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Development Center, Nevada
December 13, 2005, 0845 Pacific Standard Time
Sergeant Jackson entered Charles' office, followed by Richard. He was surprised to see the soldier casually dressed in chinos and a button-down shirt with an expensive looking tie. He looked like a successful lawyer or a mid-level executive, albeit one who worked out a lot.
Richard shrugged to signal he didn't know what was going on.
Sergeant Jackson smiled at Charles' reaction to his dress. “One of the things a Special Forces soldier needs to do, is to blend in so he passes unremarked at the ballgame or the mall. I decided to blend in here.”
Richard shot back. “In that case, I think you need to dress down a little, my friend.”
Richard was wearing his usual outfit of cargo pants and a worn sweatshirt with a message on the front. Today's message was ROTFLMAO. A popular acronym in the online world that stood for 'rolling on the floor laughing my ass off', which Richard thought summarized his attitude to a number of people.
Sergeant Jackson continued, clearly determined to finish what he had to say. “Yesterday, after the test, I suddenly saw something I previously couldn't or didn't want to see. I believe the word for it is epiphany. When they seconded me to this project, I thought it was a waste of my time and the taxpayer's money.
“I thought designing robots to replace Special Forces was a ridiculous idea. A robot would never be able to do all the things we can, or do them anything like as well, but yesterday, I realized that's not the point. The point is to do things that men can't do, or can't do well, or do them in situations where it's too dangerous for a man to operate, or even just to do things in a more cost effective way.
“A Special Forces soldier costs the government a lot of money, more than anyone else in the military, except a pilot. It takes years to train one of us, and we are very hard to replace. Increasing the supply of Special Forces takes substantial resources, and takes a long time. Robots don't have these limitations.
“If I were honest, I'd admit to being hostile to the suggestion a robot could duplicate what I worked so hard to achieve. But yesterday I realized that MAADS and other robotic weapons are about extending the capabilities of Special Forces, making us more effective, able to cover more ground, perform more missions, and enable us to perform missions we can't currently perform because they have too many risks.
“Yesterday, I also realized that robots are disposable, and that opens up new ways of prosecuting military operations. Ways that Special Forces haven't even begun to understand the implications of. It will take us years to incorporate robotic weapons into our tactics and doctrine.
“On a personal level, I realized it is a very interesting time to be a soldier. Warfare is changing more than I appreciated, and I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in those changes.
Richard sought to defuse the tension produced by Sergeant Jackson's frank confession. “Does blending in, include calling you Delisle?”
“Yes it does, Richard.”
Charles said, “I am sure I speak for everyone when I say we are glad you are now a full member of the team because we now realize how much we require your expertise.”
Charles slipped into his project manager role, needing to keep people to a schedule. “We are late for the nine a.m. meeting. Let's go.”
He led the two men in the direction of the conference room. When they entered, Jackson's dress attracted attention as he took his usual seat, but no one commented. Charles went to the front of the room, and started the meeting.
Sergeant Jackson thought back to the moment that resulted in his epiphany. He hadn't explained it to Charles and Richard, because to understand it, you needed to understand the psychology of an elite soldier.
The training instills in you, an absolute belief in the superiority of your training, equipment, esprit de corp, mental attitude, and killing skills. You will survive and your enemy will die, because you are better in every way.
Yesterday at the range, after the tactical robot shot down the aerial vehicle, and he listened to Richard deconstruct and invalidated things he knew with certainty. He realized he would face robots in battle. It was a deeply unsettling prospect. He and his fellow soldiers were totally unprepared. Most of their training was somewhere between irrelevant and counterproductive.
He hadn't been able to get out his head that he didn't need to fear braver, better trained or better armed men. He needed to fear men, he would never see on the battlefield. Men who were smarter than him.
Chapter 25
December 13, 2005, 0845 Pacific Standard Time
Sergeant Jackson entered Charles' office, followed by Richard. He was surprised to see the soldier casually dressed in chinos and a button-down shirt with an expensive looking tie. He looked like a successful lawyer or a mid-level executive, albeit one who worked out a lot.
Richard shrugged to signal he didn't know what was going on.
Sergeant Jackson smiled at Charles' reaction to his dress. “One of the things a Special Forces soldier needs to do, is to blend in so he passes unremarked at the ballgame or the mall. I decided to blend in here.”
Richard shot back. “In that case, I think you need to dress down a little, my friend.”
Richard was wearing his usual outfit of cargo pants and a worn sweatshirt with a message on the front. Today's message was ROTFLMAO. A popular acronym in the online world that stood for 'rolling on the floor laughing my ass off', which Richard thought summarized his attitude to a number of people.
Sergeant Jackson continued, clearly determined to finish what he had to say. “Yesterday, after the test, I suddenly saw something I previously couldn't or didn't want to see. I believe the word for it is epiphany. When they seconded me to this project, I thought it was a waste of my time and the taxpayer's money.
“I thought designing robots to replace Special Forces was a ridiculous idea. A robot would never be able to do all the things we can, or do them anything like as well, but yesterday, I realized that's not the point. The point is to do things that men can't do, or can't do well, or do them in situations where it's too dangerous for a man to operate, or even just to do things in a more cost effective way.
“A Special Forces soldier costs the government a lot of money, more than anyone else in the military, except a pilot. It takes years to train one of us, and we are very hard to replace. Increasing the supply of Special Forces takes substantial resources, and takes a long time. Robots don't have these limitations.
“If I were honest, I'd admit to being hostile to the suggestion a robot could duplicate what I worked so hard to achieve. But yesterday I realized that MAADS and other robotic weapons are about extending the capabilities of Special Forces, making us more effective, able to cover more ground, perform more missions, and enable us to perform missions we can't currently perform because they have too many risks.
“Yesterday, I also realized that robots are disposable, and that opens up new ways of prosecuting military operations. Ways that Special Forces haven't even begun to understand the implications of. It will take us years to incorporate robotic weapons into our tactics and doctrine.
“On a personal level, I realized it is a very interesting time to be a soldier. Warfare is changing more than I appreciated, and I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in those changes.
Richard sought to defuse the tension produced by Sergeant Jackson's frank confession. “Does blending in, include calling you Delisle?”
“Yes it does, Richard.”
Charles said, “I am sure I speak for everyone when I say we are glad you are now a full member of the team because we now realize how much we require your expertise.”
Charles slipped into his project manager role, needing to keep people to a schedule. “We are late for the nine a.m. meeting. Let's go.”
He led the two men in the direction of the conference room. When they entered, Jackson's dress attracted attention as he took his usual seat, but no one commented. Charles went to the front of the room, and started the meeting.
Sergeant Jackson thought back to the moment that resulted in his epiphany. He hadn't explained it to Charles and Richard, because to understand it, you needed to understand the psychology of an elite soldier.
The training instills in you, an absolute belief in the superiority of your training, equipment, esprit de corp, mental attitude, and killing skills. You will survive and your enemy will die, because you are better in every way.
Yesterday at the range, after the tactical robot shot down the aerial vehicle, and he listened to Richard deconstruct and invalidated things he knew with certainty. He realized he would face robots in battle. It was a deeply unsettling prospect. He and his fellow soldiers were totally unprepared. Most of their training was somewhere between irrelevant and counterproductive.
He hadn't been able to get out his head that he didn't need to fear braver, better trained or better armed men. He needed to fear men, he would never see on the battlefield. Men who were smarter than him.
Chapter 25
1 Comments:
Found some tips in here... Not sure about it all, but was useful. keep it up
**freedom for who: **
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