[quote=@Webmaster]
<Snipped quote by Zeal>

*Looks out a window*
My father taught me as a child that those above you held authority that you could not bypass. That to ignore the orders of your superior is the equivalent of rebelling against yourself, as you cannot see the entirety of the battle; you can only see that which is directly in front of you. I've seen soldiers killed due to orders, and I have sent soldiers to be killed. When enlisted into my army or any other, they know that their lives belong to the commanding officer. I've sent squads, fully knowing that not a single man would return alive, in order to cripple the enemy and save many more lives of my own soldiers. If one of them had the urge to rebel against my commands, he would be terminated on the spot, because it would ruin the entirety of the operation. Lives are saved, and lives are spent, but it all depends on following the orders of one man, of one superior; disobeying isn't an option in my army, and any other successful one. If a soldier believes he knows a more advantageous path that his superior does not, he is to follow orders, even if it costs him his life. For what good is a pawn that disobeys, and does not move forward, when that action may save a rook? That responsibility falls on the general, to know every possible route, and to weigh the outcomes; this is why a command position is not a simple alternative to a foot soldier. He must make decisions that will be most beneficial to the whole, and each and every life weighs upon his shoulders. So the soldier who sees a path he prefers must trust the general knows of this path, and has rejected it for a reason, and that his own view is limited. The general must command each and every squad, and those very squads must obey, no matter the consequences.
*Turns back*
As is the Art of War.
[/quote]

I was never taught the Art of War...I was taught the Art of Survival...there is no direction that is the same with every member. Though the goal is always the same it is never reached. It is a harsh truth that every member acknowledges. For they must in order to survive. They know that everything is made to kill. Whether it is their opponent or themselves.
*sips a cup of hot tea*
There are many flaws with this Art. But the flaws are what makes the Art. I fill those flaws with my own morals. there is also the fact that everyone is different in the way they practice. What if that one superior is gone? And the latter units are sent orderless? How will units act? They change. They change accordance to what they know and they rally or split. Some panic. Those who panic die. It is about venturing through the unknown and having a certain piece of knowledge that everything you have brought will become useless and that you much advance with greater knowledge. Make the unknown known and venture more. But one must also have a goal...and that goal is life. For without it, it becomes death.