Once upon a time, there is a kingdom with a king living in a palace on a hill. He can only maintain or expand the boundaries of his kingdom if he has an army to fight on his behalf. In the kingdom, there are a number of large military bases where soldiers are recruited and given their basic training. They have a great time on these bases. They spend hours singing the praises of their king. A large number of soldiers spend their time telling the children of the king's exploits in the past.
The senior officers bustle around looking extremely busy. Some even move from base to base encouraging the troops. The bases are well equipped with provisions and regular newsletters are published. People are regularly recruited, because the bases are exciting places to be,
but no one actually goes out to fight.
The soldiers are so busy on their bases that they do not realise that enemy armies are invading the kingdom. Occasionally, someone comes down off the watchtower and raises an alarm. The soldiers respond by getting busy in their training activities.
Sometimes a soldier fires a gun in the direction of one invading army, but because the shot is misdirected and fired in fear, it has no impact.
One day the army wakes up and finds that their camps are totally surrounded by enemy soldiers. The training camps have not been designed for defence, so they will have no alternative but to surrender.
Many will have expected the king to come out of his castle on the hill, and deliver the people from the enemy, with a new miraculous weapon. This is a vain hope. The king remains in his palace where he is safe and where he belongs.
If the army is to retake the kingdom for the king, the soldiers will be forced out into the towns and the countryside to form guerilla units. By forming small cohesive units that can exist under domination by the enemy army, they will eventually drive out the enemy armies and retake the kingdom.
June 1985
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