I began my history at the very outbreak of the war, in the belief that it was going to be a great war…

Thucydides

Anybody who believes that the pen is mightier than the sword hasn’t spent time in Somalia, or in Beirut in its bloody heyday. Or even Baghdad or Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in more recent times.

Al J. Venter

The best of military professionals thrive on what is unambiguously termed ‘the incontrovertible system of the seven Ps’: Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Andy McNab in Seven Troop