Thread by @WarintheFuture

I have just begun my annual re-read of John @Scalzi’s superb novel of future war, “Old Man’s War”. It is one of the few books that I re-read frequently (another is Clausewitz’s “On War”). I thought I would explain why in a thread that started short, but grew as I wrote. 1/15 🧵

2/ Old Man’s War gets war right. While technology & society drive change in the character of war, there is much that is enduring. This includes the human-centricity of conflict, as well as the friction, uncertainty and terror experienced by combatant. @scalzi describes this well.

3/ The novel explores adaptation. Soldier scholar Sir Michael Howard once wrote that it was less important to predict or prepare for the next fight than it was to ensure one’s institution had the leadership and culture to learn and adapt more quickly than an enemy once war began.

4/ It is an important insight. As we have seen in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has adapted quickly across many areas to stay ahead and defeat their Russian adversaries. Scalzi explores the importance of adaptation during the book.

5/ Technology matters, but does not provide a silver bullet in warfare. Technologies such as space travel, biological augmentation, communication among others help paint the picture of a future military environment in Old Man’s War.

6/ However, it is important to explore the implications of new technologies on near future conflict. Not only do new technologies impact the doctrines and tactics of fighting, they also influence strategy and political decision making.

7/ The ethics of war is examined. Just war theory explores jus ad bellum (the ethics of making decisions to go to war) and jus in bello (the ethics of conduct in war). Scalzi covers both of these in this novel, and in more detail in subsequent books in the series.

8/ Related to this, Old Man’s War explores the price of combat on individuals. No one can fight for long without it taking a psychological toll. The books covers this well. As the main character, John Perry notes after one particular battle…

9/ “Maybe that’s what’s bothering me. There’s no sense of consequence. I just took a living, thinking thing and hurled it into the side of a building. Doing it didn’t bother me at all. The fact that it didn’t does bother me.”

10/ “There ought to be consequences to our actions. We have to acknowledge at least some of the horror of what we do, whether we’re doing it for good reasons or not.” This speaks to military personnel having to be trained, educated and led with our values always in sight.

11/ Intelligence. The collection, analysis, dissemination & use of intelligence is the hallmark of successful military organisations. This is also an integral part of Old Man’s War. It highlights to military and national security professionals the importance of this process.

12/ Training. Training not only physically and intellectually prepares soldiers - individuals & teams - for the rigors of combat. It also provides the means for them to survive their first weeks on the battlefield so they can learn & adapt. It is emphasized in this book.

13/ Leadership. Good leaders always get better results from teams and more inspired performance from individuals. The book is full of insights into leadership and leading teams in challenging situations. These lessons cover good and bad leadership styles.

14/ I know military #scifi is not everyone’s cup of tea. But it is one of my favorite genres, and I think there is much we can learn from it. And, if you are thinking of reading your first military sci-fi novel, this is a great one to start with.

15/ Every time I read this book, I am a little older and have acquired new and different experiences. This means I am reading the book through slightly different eyes. I learn something, and ponder things anew, with each reading of Old Man’s War. End.