Critics of Prince Davion's Operation: Galahad tend to focus on one fact, that we of the Federated Suns are already at war, that we have been at war for centuries, in fact. Technically, this is true, since the conflict known as the Third Successor State War has never formally ended. It must be pointed out, however, that the combat readiness of the Federated Suns space and BattleTech forces cannot be counted on unless it is verified and supported through frequent training exercises such as Galahad. Wargames: Are they as wasteful as the real thing? There is a further, deeper necessity to military maneuvers such as Galahad. Never forget that our enemies, the military planners and staffs at Luthian and Sian, are watching these maneuvers very carefully indeed. I can think of no better way to demonstrate our willingness to confront them in open conflict, our readiness to defend and preserve that liberty which we hold dear, than to demonstrate our combat readiness on a regular basis. There is good reason to believe that the relative peace which has ensued across both frontiers during this past year is in fact the result of both the Combine and the Confederation taking note of the highly successful test deployments and maneuvers of our forces last August and deciding that a major invasion had a low probability for success. If the enemy knows that an invasion is going to be costly because the defender is well-trained and well-prepared, then he probably will never invade in the first place. And that, rather than the training, is the true value of these maneuvers. The Prince's critics contend that maneuvers are expensive, but their cost is miniscule compared to the cost in men, worlds, resources, and irreplaceable industry and war machines should Kurita and Liao launch a full-scale invasion. More What is Hanse Up To? What is Hanse Up To? Operation Galahad: The Waste of Almost-War Operation Galahad: The Price of Vigilence Back to BattleTechnology Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com