day no. 15,138: the anticipated chaos of combat

"This chaotic environment also brings opportunity. Clausewitz wrote about combat, 'No other human activity is so continuously. . . bound up with chance.' The challenge is to recognize opportunity when it occurs in the midst of chaos and uncertainty and to seize it to obtain a clear, unambiguous victory. When viewed through time, even the most chaotic of systems may reveal recurring patterns that may then be exploited. The experienced tactician will look for these recurring patterns that can be exploited to advantage." -- MCDP 1-3: Tactics

Chaos is attended by opportunity. The chaos is easily identified while the opportunities are not. God imposed His will upon the chaotic, formless void in the beginning and from it came everything that has every lived. Chaos, in other words, is an opportunity to impose order. The vacancy of order is a vacuum waiting to be filled by something. The seat will not remain empty. It is not a matter of if order will sit down, but which order?

Chaos is order waiting to happen.

But it will not corral itself into shape. It is ripe for the picking and ready to be shaped by whoever is ready in that moment to take advantage of the void and fill it with their agenda. The anticipated chaos of combat is an expected opportunity to advance one's agenda and impose one's will. That presupposes knowing what you want to do, where you want to go and being ready and able to take advantage of the vacancies produced by battle by occupying them with your imposition.