Reconnaissance Quotes

The Long March is the first of its kind in the annals of history, that it is a manifesto, a propaganda force, a seeding-machine. Has history ever witnessed a long march such as ours? For twelve months we were under daily reconnaissance and bombing from the skies by scores of planes, while on land we were encircled and pursued, obstructed and intercepted by a huge force of several hundred thousand men, and we encountered untold difficulties and dangers on the way; yet by using our two legs we swept across a distance of more than twenty thousand li through the length and breadth of eleven provinces. Let us ask, has history ever known a long march to equal ours? No, never. The Long March is a manifesto. It has proclaimed to the world that the Red Army is an army of heroes, while the imperialists and their running dogs, Chiang Kai-shek and his like, are impotent. It has proclaimed their utter failure to encircle, pursue, obstruct and intercept us. The Long March is also a propaganda force. It has announced to some 200 million people in eleven provinces that the road of the Red Army is their only road to liberation.

One of the most remarkable occurrences of the army has this moment taken place. Park Spring, the telegraph operator, situated in Prof. Lowe’s balloon, at an elevation of one thousand feet….is freely and rapidly communicating with the Department at Washington. This is certainly an ingenious and valuable method of giving instantaneous information.

Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move.

I was with the CIA for only three years. I worked in the Directorate of Operations, which is now called the National Clandestine Service. It's the part of the organization where the spies live. I didn't have much experience beyond the training.

When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a CIA agent. Really. I even did the online questionnaire.

Since that time I have had continuous contact with the persons who were completely unknown to me, except that I knew they would hand whatever information I gave them to the Russian authorities.

... Japanese future action unpredictable but hostile action possible at any moment. If hostilities cannot be avoided, the United States desires that Japan commit the first overt act. This policy should not be construed as restricting you to a course of action that might jeopardize your defense. Prior to hostile Japanese action you are directed to undertake such reconnaissance and other measures as you deem necessary but these measures should be carried out so as not to alarm civil population or disclose intent.

When I first deployed as a military intelligence officer my resources were a map, a grease pencil and two corporals.

I saw a limit to what I was giving as kind of a scam I was running on the KGB, by giving them people that I knew were their double agents fed to us.

1. Don't forget nothing. 2. Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatchet scoured, sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready to march at a minute's warning. 3. When you're on the march, act the way you would if you was sneaking up on a deer. See the enemy first. 4. Tell the truth about what you see and do. There is an army depending on us for correct information. You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the Rangers, but don't never lie to a Ranger or officer. 5. Don't never take a chance you don't have to. 6. When we're on the march we march single file, far enough apart so one shot can't go through two men. 7. If we strike swamps, or soft ground, we spread out abreast, so it's hard to track us. 8. When we march, we keep moving til dark, so as to give the enemy the least possible chance at us. 9. When we camp, half the party stays awake while the other half sleeps. 10. If we take prisoners, we keep 'em separate til we have had time to examine them, so they can't cook up a story between 'em. 11. Don't ever march home the same way. Take a different route so you won't be ambushed. 12. No matter whether we travel in big parties or little ones, each party has to keep a scout 20 yards ahead, twenty yards on each flank and twenty yards in the rear, so the main body can't be surprised and wiped out. 13. Every night you'll be told where to meet if surrounded by a superior force. 14. Don't sit down to eat without posting sentries. 15. Don't sleep beyond dawn. Dawn's when the French and Indians attack. 16. Don't cross a river by a regular ford. 17. If somebody's trailing you, make a circle, come back onto your own tracks, and ambush the folks that aim to ambush you. 18. Don't stand up when the enemy's coming against you. Kneel down. Hide behind a tree. 19. Let the enemy come till he's almost close enough to touch. Then let him have it and jump out and finish him up with your hatchet.

Breaking a cardinal rule of spy craft, I actually let it be known that I wanted to work for the CIA.

In real life I do a lot of reconnaissance and then kind of choose the guy I'm going to go after. Not like stalking, but I just want a little background info. That might be why I haven't had many bad dates.

To inform, and, therefore to reconnoitre , this is the first and constant duty of the advanced guard.

Ranger picked up and there was a moment of silence as if he was sensing me at the other end, taking my body temperature and heart rate long distance. “Babe,” he finally said. “Do you know the slum apartment building Bobby Sunflower owns on Stark?” “Yes. It’s on the same block as his funeral home.” “That’s the one. I’m going in to look for someone. If you don’t hear from me in a half hour maybe you could send someone to check.” “Is this a smart thing to do?” “Probably not.” “As long as you know,” Ranger said. And he disconnected.

If a military mission has no guide who knows the inside information of the opponents, it will likely have to retreat half of the way.

Okay, this is the wisdom. First, time spent on reconnaissanse is never wasted. Second, almost anything can be improved with the addition of bacon. And finally, there is no problem on Earth that can't be ameliorated by a hot bath and a cup of tea.

Hollywood does tend to portray CIA officers as totally the honey trap. Looks matter as they do in any profession. But the most important thing for me when I was working was blending into my environment.

There is not a bird that flies by without our knowledge.

Sig Sauer. Nine millimetres. Thirteen in the magazine. Big bullets. One of these hits you and it could blow your head off; something even the magic can't fix. Other than that you should be all right, presuming you remembered to wear the regulation above-ground micro-fibre jumpsuit recently patented by me. Then again, being a Recon jock, you probably didn't.

On the periscope . . . . What a beautiful view. Cloud cover over Florida - three to four tenths near the eastern coast. Obscured up to Hatteras . . . I can see [lake] Okeechobee. Identify Andros Island. Identify the reefs.

One of the reasons I'm on tour is to meet people. I consider it a reconnaissance. You know, I consider myself like in a military operation. I don't feel like a citizen.

The idea of aerial military surveillance dates back to the Civil War, when both the Union and the Confederacy used hot-air balloons to spy on the other side, tracking troop movements and helping to direct artillery fire.

If Wild Bill could have made his successful dash into our lines earlier in the day, the attack would have been made sooner, and greater results might have been expected. The Confederates had suspected him of being a spy for two or three days, and had watched him too closely to allow an opportunity to get away from them sooner.

There's a wide range of motivations that led folks to patrol the border, to be part of Arizona Border Recon.

The United States has every intention of continuing to do the kind of reconnaissance and surveillance work we have done for decades, well known to everyone, that is essential to protect our national security, and frankly, the security of our friends in various regions of the world. It is part of our collection system.