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