Good morning, I will try to be brief.
Today you are embarking on a journey that is perhaps the most difficult yet in your young lives. Lay witness to what I am about to tell you as I have walked in your footsteps and have cried the same tears. After many wars, hundreds of friends lost and countless moments of starting over I can say that nothing is as sweet as the homecoming of victory. Our lives are made up of the smallest moments—either well lived or ill played—so you must be aware and make your future now.
This warpath you now tread did not begin today nor will it end when medals are given. You have been fighting this war from the moment your lungs breathed air for the first time, and it all ends when those lungs breathe their last. The struggle for good in a world of temptation can only be defined by the life you now live. No one can give you honor, courage or justice—it is you who must bring it out from within.
War is a test of endurance that you must all learn to endure, fighting-on 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Nothing gets easy before it gets hard; you will struggle and face unbearable moments. At times there will be no one to console you and you will be forced to keep struggling or give in to weakness and die. I salute both the living and the dead since both will have learned a lesson and both will have gone through great pain. I wish you all well in this test of strength. Your mind and body must become strong in order to last, so study well the great minds of history and start getting in shape.
The following four stages are what you can expect from this war:
The Enlistment, Grouping and Motivation Surge
In the beginning your own inspiration will get you past 24 hours and into the light of a new dawn. Do not, I repeat, do not trust motivation. Relying on your inspiration will get you killed so I warn you: stay quiet and stay away from motivational poster searches that seem to inspire and draw creativity and deep thought. In order to survive the war you will need to inspect every aspect of your mind and being, and change the way you live. That means little to no web related tasks that are not a part of your work or crafts. Also, the CS website should be FIRST in your list of todo’s.
The Killing Zone
After 2 days men will die left and right. Both sides will take heavy casualties for weeks on end. Hundreds will turn to tens as porn takes over the minds of those stuck in the motivation stage. Soldiers you met just the day before in the chats and the grunts who post their life story with the Solid oath of never turning back will soon be dead as the stink of bodies fill the trenches. Learn from their mistakes, keep your head down, report to your barracks and keep your gun loaded: if you want to live spend these first weeks outside and unplugged. You are not to be trusted.
The Silence of War
Motivation is going to get some guys pumped up so fast they will explode with excitement. The Killing Zone is going to bring a reality check to most and those KIA will soon be crawling their way back to the light wishing they never looked at her. The Silence of War will be when all the death has slowed down and soldiers realize that this war is not about fun, it’s not about friends and it’s not about superpowers. You are going to witness hundreds of men fall to weakness and claim they will never go back: this will be the hardest part of war. As barracks go KIA and regiments fall, depression will set in if you depended too much on solidarity. This war was never about solidarity but the pursuit of perfection within ourselves. It is only after we make it past the Silence that we can actually help others and begin the team building only a leader can withstand.
You can expect a regular stream of thought coming from the Company Commanders, experienced vets and diehard wargoers like myself. Only the few will have the strength to keep speaking encouraging words. The narrative will go on but not as you hoped. Expect a few arguments as life begins to unfold and frustration takes over as you get strung out on the drug of war. Living through this race is hard but you are becoming stronger then ever before.
Men of Honor
The final stage is about you standing alone with a new life purpose and a new outlook on who you are and what you are all about. This is when you look around and realize you are the only one left standing. As the smoke of gun barrels fades away and the stench of dead bodies dissipates, you will be left with more knowledge then you ever expected. That knowledge will breed wisdom in wars to come if you so choose to return—most cannot. Yes, most will not make it past the Killing Zone and men will even fall into the Honor period. Porn is only a small thorn in a giant cactus of issues in our lives and we must pluck each one to clear our minds and live as responsible adults and become the men we were born to be.
I look forward to seeing you at the end but I know that I will only step over your body after it has been showered with bullets. May you be the brother I have been searching for all this time and may you find yourself in all this mess. To all those who struggle and to all those who live and die, to those who breath discipline and to those soldiers who I have served with in wars before: I salute you. I am your brother in arms in this and all future battles, may you live on to lead as I have. See you in my weekly educational articles, we have much to discuss.
SolidStance, friend and brother to men everywhere