The boundary between military strategy and madness is thinner than you think. Jon Ronson’s 2004 book , The Men Who Stare at Goats
But that was the specialty of the First Earth Battalion. Officially, they were a "human potential" unit. Unofficially, they were the unholy lovechild of a Zen monastery and a Black Ops budget sheet. Their motto: "No more than kindness, no less than steel." The Men Who Stare At Goats
They were brought into a room with a goat. The soldier had to sit, focus his "chi," stare into the goat’s eyes, and stop its heart using only the power of his intention. The boundary between military strategy and madness is
"Clear your mind," Django intoned, circling Ray slowly. "Imagine a beam of light shooting from your third eye. It is a laser of purest intention. You are not angry at the goat. You love the goat. You love him so much you are setting him free." Unofficially, they were the unholy lovechild of a
No figure looms larger over this story than Major General Albert Stubblebine III. In 1981, Stubblebine was a man at the peak of his career. As the commanding general of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), he presided over 17,000 soldiers, 16 military bases, and a budget in the hundreds of millions.
The story of The Men Who Stare at Goats revolves around a group of soldiers from the 1st SFOD-D who were trained in a unique approach to warfare. They were taught to use unorthodox tactics, including the use of psychic powers, such as telepathy and clairvoyance, to gather intelligence and conduct operations.