WHAT LESSONS CAN AN OLD MOVIE TEACH US ABOUT GO-TO-WAR MINDSETS?
In a cheeky critique of the classic American airpower narrative "Twelve O'Clock High," award-winning soldier-poet, essayist, and humorist Randy Brown explores what it means to be a leader or follower at war-morally, physically, and psychologically. The book is packed full of insights into military life, as viewed through the lenses of war movies, history, and the author's personal experiences as a one-time U.S. Army-trained "lessons-learned analyst."
"I started out to write 12 haiku poems about a favorite old war movie," says the author, "but my 'whimsical experiment in minimalist war poetry' mutated into a 'maximum effort' mix of memory, media, and military culture!" TWELVE O'CLOCK HAIKU: Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems now comprises a salvo of provocative poetry, a companion essay about the film, and resources for enthusiasts of World War II aircraft, history, and movies.
Brown first encountered the 1949 movie when on temporary duty as a U.S. Army citizen-soldier. Whether as a novel, film, or late-1960s television series, the "Twelve O'Clock High" franchise continues to be a key tool in 21st century Professional Military Education (PME) and business-class discussions. A great conversation-starter about transformative leadership, management techniques, organizational learning, and ethics!
In addition to other accolades, Brown is a three-time poetry finalist in the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Awards, administered annually by the Chicago-based literary journal Line of Advance. His 2015 collection, Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire, was awarded a gold medal distinction from the Military Writers Society of America. His chapbook So Frag & So Bold: Short Poems, Aphorisms & Other Wartime Fun was published in 2021.
In 2010, Brown was preparing to deploy as the sole "knowledge manager" for a deploying U.S. Army National Guard brigade. After a paperwork SNAFU dropped him off the list, he retired with 20 years of military service and a previous overseas deployment. He then went to Afghanistan anyway, embedding with his former colleagues as a civilian journalist.
He is the co-editor of two non-fiction books: 2015's Reporting for Duty: Citizen-Soldier Journalism from the Afghan Surge, 2010-2011; and 2019's Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War.
As "Charlie Sherpa," he blogs about modern war poetry at www.fobhaiku.com, and about writing on military themes at www.aimingcircle.org.
