Patriot Games

A conscience is the price of morality, and morality is the price of civilization.

Tradition is important,” Evans said. “For a soldier, tradition is often the reason one carries on when there are so many reasons not to. It’s more than just yourself, more than just your mates—but it’s not just something for soldiers, is it? It is true—or should be true—of any professional community.

The human mind has a way of punishing itself for killing a fellow man. It remembers and relives the incident again and again.

No complaints. The kid is back in the saddle,” Jackson said, sitting down. “You should have been up in the Tomcat with me last week. Oh, man, I’m finally back in the groove. I was hassling with a guy in an A-4 playing aggressor, and I ruined his day. It was so fine.” He grinned like a lion surveying a herd of crippled antelope. “I’m ready!” “When

we are enemies. I would as soon kill you as have dinner with you. But even enemies can negotiate, can’t they, now?

If you’re really good, they’d taught him at Quantico, you don’t have to be arrogant.

To a man, professional soldiers despised terrorists, and each would dream about getting them in an even-up-battle; the idea of the Field of Honor had never died for the real professionals. It was the place where the ultimate decision was made on the basis of courage and skill, on the basis of manhood itself, and it was this concept that marked the professional soldier as a romantic, a person who truly believed in the rules.

You can act like a policeman or a soldier, but not both.

Victory comes only to those prepared to make it, and take it ~Tom Clancy

It's all about intelligence; and intelligence comes down to a bunch of faceless bureaucrats sifting through all this crap.

After three weeks in this environment, Sally was probably doing the cutest curtsies in the history of Western Civilization. By this time the Palace staff was probably fighting for the right to look after her. Sally was a true daddy’s girl. The ability to manipulate the people around her came easily. She’d practiced on her father for years.