History of Military
Arts gave me the knowledge good enough to understand now the things played in the theater of war. Professor Jim Storr’s article on Warfare and Strategy pointed me into this scene in the theater of war where I supposed to be having more focus on instead – what I was missing this whole time. He stressed out in his article of how important is understanding warfare in studying strategy. He compared this to Einstein’s quote that, if one can’t describe something simply, then he don’t understand it well enough. For him, the knowledge in warfare is a critical aspect in the study of strategy.
I can see in his article how Prof Storr wanted his readers to appreciate the understanding of warfare in studying strategy. However, the ideas he presented are more inclined in criticizing strategists and strategy writers rather than giving the full experience of how really the understanding of warfare makes a great impact in formulating strategies. He pointed out flaws, mainly on Clausewitz and how other strategists act under false pretenses. He also pointed out how other people and even strategy writers really know little or nothing about strategy. With this, the article let me realize that not all strategists are that capable of translating and relating their ideas with what is really happening there outside. They may just say complex ideas using excessively complex language which may seem to gratify them. And the real thing is that they are just discussing particular topic but not the phenomenon at hand.
With this, I also came to realize that is it true that firsthand information is helpful and important but at times, it is still insufficient. We should not only reflect on our firsthand experience but also consider others experience in order to study warfare on breadth and depth.
The article is indeed a good choice to read. It is an eye opener for me, that I should be very careful in what I feed my mind. Because a simple idea when planted in one’s mind will grow and can either build something or destroy things. I should be very critical to whom or what I am going to believe to especially on principles and strategies, not only in war but also in life. What delighted me most after reading this article is realizing that after all the real value of studying warfare and strategy is on how are we going to apply and practice it in our future profession as military officers.
All in all, I can say that there is still a lot for me to take in, in order to understand strategy. As what Prof Storr suggested, we have the important position that can shape the fate of the nation and even the world. Hence, by understanding and having a great deal of knowledge in warfare, studying strategy and teaching it to the next generation would be a real game changer,
