General Petraeus Takes a Nap

The major news media has reported that General David Petraeus fainted during a Senate conference. Watching the video, it does not appear to be exactly correct. He may have just nodded off. Since Senator McCain was speaking at the time, boredom was the probable cause of the generals sleepiness. Indeed, soldiers from time in memorial have been known to fall asleep in just about any circumstance. Recruits in training, who might be running, marching, or doing calisthenics out in the elements, inevitable fall asleep when they are herded into an auditorium for a class. The drill instructors themselves nod off unless they remain active walking around waking people up.

High ranking officers also fall asleep during briefings and classes. Not getting enough sleep is of course the main reason but also boredom from having hearing the same thing so many times contributes. They usually are left to sleep. Listening to presentations by non-military official is probably the hardest thing for a soldier to take. The main issue to the military mind is what to do next. Civilians briefings are usually highly irrelevant to that immediate practical concern. General von Hindenburg at the Brest-Litovsk negotiations performed the most famous snooze. The doplomats finally had to wake him up to ask why he insisted on occupation of the Baltic countries as part of any cease fire agreement. He stated that Germany needed it for the army's left flank in the next war. He then resumed his nap.

Incidentally, the name Petreaus is somewhat similar to Paulus. Besides starting with 'P', they both have latinized endings. Both generals commanded a large army in the farthest eastern advance of their respective forces. General Paulus of course commanded the 20 division strong 6th German Army in the attack of Stalingrad. After months of heroic efforts, 6th Army succeeded is taking Stalingrad for the most part. However, it became trapped when Russian offensives cut through his flanks and rear. General Paulus' chief failings were thinking like an overly bureaucratic staff officer and trusting Adolph Hitler. General Petraeus commands in Afghanistan. He has not suffered the fate of General Field Marchall Paulus (or of the British in Afghanistan for that matter). It occurs to this writer to ponder how he would escape from Afghanistan if Pakistan fell in an Islamic coupe.