Operation Awesome Righteous Kick-Ass May The Force Be With You And I'm All Out of Bubblegum MegaDeath
These cinematic names for military operations bug me.
It sounds like advertising/propaganda. The military analog of selling legislation by naming it--see e.g. the inaptly-named "PATRIOT" Act...
This stuff is too serious to be handed over to the boys in the marketing division.
Though OTOH several years back I read an account of one general explaining that some of this is because, according to him, nobody wants to say that they were deployed in "Operation Blue Spoon"... I mean...'Operation Overlord' and 'Operation Cobra' do have a certain flair... But 'Market Garden' is totally straight, and hardly uncool. Consider also 'The Manhattan Project.'
Probably not worth worrying about...but maybe worth a thought...
It sounds like advertising/propaganda. The military analog of selling legislation by naming it--see e.g. the inaptly-named "PATRIOT" Act...
This stuff is too serious to be handed over to the boys in the marketing division.
Though OTOH several years back I read an account of one general explaining that some of this is because, according to him, nobody wants to say that they were deployed in "Operation Blue Spoon"... I mean...'Operation Overlord' and 'Operation Cobra' do have a certain flair... But 'Market Garden' is totally straight, and hardly uncool. Consider also 'The Manhattan Project.'
Probably not worth worrying about...but maybe worth a thought...
posted by Winston Smith at
9:53 AM
4 Comments:
My favorite is still Operation Iraqi Liberation*
-- Pete Mack
* Or was it freedom? No, pretty sure that's supposed to be an L.
I'm partial to Operation Just 'Cause
Is it just me or does it seem like Israel employs the same dude to come up with these names. Their recent invasion of Gaza: Operation Protective Edge. Classic!
Right...like they hire the same marketing firm...
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