The Goats Stared Back

It wasn't a great showing for a George Clooney movie:



In many ways the real life story is better.

No less an authority than former NATO commander/retired 4 star Wesley Clark said that learning new skills at every rank was essential to his advancement in the Army. After Vietnam, mid-level staff officer Jim Channon thought maybe those skills should be radically different. So he proposed a personal volunteer recon mission into the very un-Armylike ranks of the Human Potential Movement.

Channon himself was really curious about what the combination of modern science and ancient wisdom might mean to a New Age Army, the nature of command and the well being of individual soldiers.

The Pentagon, chock full of Cold Warriors, was more concerned about rumors of Soviet psychic spies, telekinesis and remote viewing.

I met the already retired Lt. Col, Jim Channon in 1983, in the company of Marilyn Ferguson, author of "The Aquarian Conspiracy."

A more conspiratorial co-worker said: "He isn't retired. He's CIA!"

Perhaps... But he appeared to have totally gone native, and if not, I only hope that all CIA covers were as convincing during the Cold War.