Nick

“Qui plume a, guerre a. Ce monde est un vaste temple dédié à la discorde.”
― Voltaire

“Information warfare consists of everything a military force does to accurately sense and make sense of its interactions with its environment and enemy forces, preserve its ability to do so, and prevent the enemy from doing the same.”
― B.A. Friedman, On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines

“General staff officer candidates were chosen from the regular army's officer corps to take a rigorous examination. If they passed, they were then sent to the academy system for years of educational studies. If they passed that, they were then full general-staff officers and assigned and administered not by the regular army, but by the general staff itself.”
― B.A. Friedman, On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines

“At the height of the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), France found itself bankrupt, unable to rely on mercenaries and proxy forces, and in possession of a corrupt and moribund army. The government solved this problem through the creation of a modern civil service to administer the army, organize and regulate it, and better support it through regular management and logistics. The result, by the end of the seventeenth century, was the most powerful, professional, and advanced military in Europe.”
― B.A. Friedman, On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines