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First Earth Battalion Operations Manual: Reprint of Original Manual from the 70's
NOW ON SALE-Normally $24.95 Evolutionary Tactics, A Blueprint for Action, The Real Light at the end of the tunnel from the Vietnam era.
Sometimes it takes the perspective of history to unmask the true genius of a person, a book or a point of view. Perhaps even more telling, the first attempt to deal with the subject of Jim Channon's First Earth Battalion was through the vehicle of comedy.
The Men Who Stare at Goats, the movie starring George Clooney did not treat the ideas at the core of the First Earth Battalion with anywhere near the attention they deserve. In fact one could say that the movie trivialized the concept through humor, and marginalized the principals as addled characters.
The true nature of the First Earth Battalion can begin to be appreciated by reading the Operations Manual. A hand illustrated work of art highlighting a new direction for not just the military but the planet as well. The fact that Jim felt the army could take the lead in this matter speaks to his own brand of practical idealism that untold numbers of corporate leaders took advantage of on his retirement from the Army.
See: http://cyber.mpnodes.info/archives/509 for the "Goats Declassified" featurette from the DVD to get the real backstory of what transpired and continues to this day.
136 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 7, 2010
Many of Channon's themes can be found over and over again in the ancient martial and spiritual texts, and some are quite obviously the product of the 60's and 70's. My two favorite pages are the New Age Synthesis for a Samurai, and the Earth Prayer. Good ideas, creative thinking, good illustrations, but IMO I wouldn't use mind and body altering substances and stick to a paleo/primal diet with respect and sustainability instead of a vegetarian one.
June 6, 2021
I became aware of this manual while watching the movie "The Men who stare at Goats", loosely based on a true story of a secret US military program which attempted to train soldiers in paranormal abilities before it got shut down. The manual itself is shown in the movie, and this aroused my curiosity.
The basic philosophy of the book, evidently inspired by that of ancient Indian and Chinese warrior monks is intriguing, and the idea of having your allegiance to "people and planet", if adopted widely and seriously, would likely eliminate conflicts and promote cooperation at a national level and beyond. Alas, at least from the vantage point of early 21st century, as nationalist leaders seem to rise almost everywhere, it does seem hopelessly utopian.
This short manual is organized in 5+1 different chapters, though the organization of each is actually quite loose.
Chapter 1 "Changing Values" discusses the values of the First Earth Battalion, the modern warrior Monks, and it is astounding to read among these "Brotherly Love" and "World Peace" in a military manual. It certainly seems very idealistic, but then, given that a lot of problems around the globe today can be traced back to the "realpolitik" of our parents' and grandparents' generation, a political view explicitly meant to be antipodal to this sort of idealism, maybe we could all benefit from a little idealism.
Chapter 2 "Personal Evolution" both reinforces the reliance of the manual's ideas on some evolutionary concepts (though not natural selection) and reveals its highly individualist stance, taking personal evolution to be the fundamental element through which societal, and then finally cultural change can be effected.
Throughout the entire manual, it is difficult to discern how serious the author's intent was. There are many passages which suggest that the manual might be an elaborate prank, such as one page in chapter 2 in which "living in the moment" is contrasted with living outside of it, accompanied by the illustration of a man with a bull's eye on his crotch and the caption "Go inside!" next to it.
The latter pages of this chapter discuss an idea for a global information network which in some respects seems to anticipate the internet.
Chapter 3 "Evolutionary Teamwork" expands on the ideas of the previous chapters and introduces new ones. In particular, the "conspiracy of sparkling eyes" and the "Earth Prayer", which were featured in the movie for comic effect, appear here.
Chapter 4 "Ethical Combat" makes the argument that nuclear weapons have obviated the need for large standing armies, and that therefore the range of options by which to engage in combat needs to be revised. In particular, it advocates for taking into account the power of television to sway world opinion and exploit it in an ethical manner.
It also advocates for the context of combats to be expanded, which could include, for example, Soviet-US cooperation. Again, astounding to read this in a US military manual from the height of the cold war.
Finally, the manual also advocates for "combining options" and illustrates this on one page with an army backpack which, beside conventional military gear, also includes things like "divining tools" and "ginseng regulators".
Chapter 5 "Earthworks" sees a peacetime role for the army similar to the the civilian conservation corps (CCC), a short-lived voluntary work-relief program for young people begun under FDR, with tree-planting among the most frequently mentioned actitivies.
Chapter 6, not mentioned in the TOC and entitled "Spirit Work" conceives the world of our everyday experiences as a plane inside our comfort zone called "the structure" and considers it in opposition to what it calls "the spirit". Ultimately, the goal is to be able to choose whenever one wants to be in one domain or other. Those who cannot break out of the structure are in cultural trance.
The chapter (and manual) concludes by claiming that "evolution is God as a verb". Setting aside that "evolution" is a noun, I genuinely do not understand how this is supposed to work, especially in light of the fact that natural selection is not mentioned or used anywhere in the manual.
I see the main value of this manual as entertainment, and the author's illustrations on nearly every page contribute to that.
I still cannot decide whether it is just a mishmash of poorly digested concepts cobbled together by a naive utopian, or an epic prank by ninja-level troll. Be it as it may, it does make good preparatory reading for the movie and it is somewhat entertaining. If you are looking to be trained as a warrior monk, though, you may be disappointed.
The basic philosophy of the book, evidently inspired by that of ancient Indian and Chinese warrior monks is intriguing, and the idea of having your allegiance to "people and planet", if adopted widely and seriously, would likely eliminate conflicts and promote cooperation at a national level and beyond. Alas, at least from the vantage point of early 21st century, as nationalist leaders seem to rise almost everywhere, it does seem hopelessly utopian.
This short manual is organized in 5+1 different chapters, though the organization of each is actually quite loose.
Chapter 1 "Changing Values" discusses the values of the First Earth Battalion, the modern warrior Monks, and it is astounding to read among these "Brotherly Love" and "World Peace" in a military manual. It certainly seems very idealistic, but then, given that a lot of problems around the globe today can be traced back to the "realpolitik" of our parents' and grandparents' generation, a political view explicitly meant to be antipodal to this sort of idealism, maybe we could all benefit from a little idealism.
Chapter 2 "Personal Evolution" both reinforces the reliance of the manual's ideas on some evolutionary concepts (though not natural selection) and reveals its highly individualist stance, taking personal evolution to be the fundamental element through which societal, and then finally cultural change can be effected.
Throughout the entire manual, it is difficult to discern how serious the author's intent was. There are many passages which suggest that the manual might be an elaborate prank, such as one page in chapter 2 in which "living in the moment" is contrasted with living outside of it, accompanied by the illustration of a man with a bull's eye on his crotch and the caption "Go inside!" next to it.
The latter pages of this chapter discuss an idea for a global information network which in some respects seems to anticipate the internet.
Chapter 3 "Evolutionary Teamwork" expands on the ideas of the previous chapters and introduces new ones. In particular, the "conspiracy of sparkling eyes" and the "Earth Prayer", which were featured in the movie for comic effect, appear here.
Chapter 4 "Ethical Combat" makes the argument that nuclear weapons have obviated the need for large standing armies, and that therefore the range of options by which to engage in combat needs to be revised. In particular, it advocates for taking into account the power of television to sway world opinion and exploit it in an ethical manner.
It also advocates for the context of combats to be expanded, which could include, for example, Soviet-US cooperation. Again, astounding to read this in a US military manual from the height of the cold war.
Finally, the manual also advocates for "combining options" and illustrates this on one page with an army backpack which, beside conventional military gear, also includes things like "divining tools" and "ginseng regulators".
Chapter 5 "Earthworks" sees a peacetime role for the army similar to the the civilian conservation corps (CCC), a short-lived voluntary work-relief program for young people begun under FDR, with tree-planting among the most frequently mentioned actitivies.
Chapter 6, not mentioned in the TOC and entitled "Spirit Work" conceives the world of our everyday experiences as a plane inside our comfort zone called "the structure" and considers it in opposition to what it calls "the spirit". Ultimately, the goal is to be able to choose whenever one wants to be in one domain or other. Those who cannot break out of the structure are in cultural trance.
The chapter (and manual) concludes by claiming that "evolution is God as a verb". Setting aside that "evolution" is a noun, I genuinely do not understand how this is supposed to work, especially in light of the fact that natural selection is not mentioned or used anywhere in the manual.
I see the main value of this manual as entertainment, and the author's illustrations on nearly every page contribute to that.
I still cannot decide whether it is just a mishmash of poorly digested concepts cobbled together by a naive utopian, or an epic prank by ninja-level troll. Be it as it may, it does make good preparatory reading for the movie and it is somewhat entertaining. If you are looking to be trained as a warrior monk, though, you may be disappointed.
October 22, 2019
Get your ginseng regulators going, because here's a real book from when the US Army looked into psychokinesis and passing through objects in the 70's. Included is an acrostic poem found in the book called SAMURAI and an earth prayer.
I first heard of this via the investigative non-fiction "Men Who Stare At Goats" by Jon Ronson (the book, not the film which was a fictionalized drama inspired by the book). Much of the content definitely sounds familiar when it comes to even modern day New Age content. The bibliography includes books I still see many people reading today, like The Book by Alan Watts and A Course in Miracles.
My rating is honestly because of the novelty and strange history that this book was involved in, along with the fact that Jim Channon even did all the illustrations.
I first heard of this via the investigative non-fiction "Men Who Stare At Goats" by Jon Ronson (the book, not the film which was a fictionalized drama inspired by the book). Much of the content definitely sounds familiar when it comes to even modern day New Age content. The bibliography includes books I still see many people reading today, like The Book by Alan Watts and A Course in Miracles.
My rating is honestly because of the novelty and strange history that this book was involved in, along with the fact that Jim Channon even did all the illustrations.
August 18, 2021
The thinking to put together a book like this in the context of post Vietnam war is commendable. The view of the military and the psychological burden of the soldiers required a different mindset for the future. Jim Channon's outside the box explorations are at times laughable when taken in the context of a theater of war, but make more sense in the inner world of a mind conflicted by rote following of orders and it's place in a larger scheme.
The homegrown drawings and rabbit holes of new age thought make a fun jaunt into a mashup that inspires with its clash of ideals. The fact that this book is still in the public mind says enough.
The homegrown drawings and rabbit holes of new age thought make a fun jaunt into a mashup that inspires with its clash of ideals. The fact that this book is still in the public mind says enough.
September 17, 2013
This kept being referenced in the Men Who Stare at Goats, so I got curious...It's a fascinating study of New Age thinking, as well as identifying future trends like global communications networks and wars being fought on TV. But it's not very surprising that it didn't really gain traction with the US Military, for whom it was written.
May 15, 2017
An important work demonstrating how long some of these ideas have been in the culture.
April 7, 2024
Fun book. RIP Jim
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews