In Plato’s Cave

Watching the shadows of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program march by me, I realize my cognizance of the mechanisms truly behind this driving force, that is, our foreign policy (?) and our national defense agenda, is neither required nor desired.

This seems to be especially true of junior officers of my rank and ilk.  It behooves all involved, myself included, for me to remain silent
as one of the masses,
the uninformed in uniform.

This seems to concern me less and less, though.  In fact, my general concern
for pumps or valves
or material condition or fluid flow
or, dare I say, nuclear physics,
is daily waning.

Oh, the blasphemy!

“I was going to forget the war.  I had made a separate peace,” said LT Henry of “A Farewell to Arms.”  Not for me, though.  As for me, I’ll hang on, and I’ll play this sick game, for 300 more days… then I’m getting out of this cave before I know of nothing but the shadows.

“The nation that insists on drawing a broad line of demarcation between its fighting man and its thinking man is destined to have its fighting done by fools and its thinking by cowards.”
- Sir William Francis Butler