First Earth Battalion

The First Earth Battalion Field Manual (4.8M pdf)

The history of this manual is described in the book The Men Who Stare at Goats, by Jon Ronson. In brief, the manual is a new age Hagakure: Book of the Samurai, and was required reading among our elite troops in the eighties and nineties, describing the warrior as a seeker of truth whose main weapons are love and compassion — practices that were ultimately twisted and perverted in a very American fashion into interrogation and torture techniques used in our war against terrorism.

In order to understand how this all played out, you’ll have to read the book. Don’t see the film, it’s a joke.

Journal of Non-lethal Combat, Feb 2000: The First Earth Battalion

Wikipedia: First Earth Battalion

Lieutenant Colonel Jim Channon: New Earth Army

The First Earth Battalion Field Manual, Page 1: