Where does the government come up these great battle and covert ops names? I mean “Operation Mongoose” is so kick-ass. And don’t even get me started on “Shock and Awe.” There are a million of them, some we’ve heard, others that slip under the radar, only to be seen by the eyes of men with top secret clearance. But who names them?
Is it Bush, errrrr, Cheney? Did Colin Powell do it with the help of aides at the Pentagon? Or, do they have guys that sit around with pen and pad, engaging in spirited brain-dumps to get the name that captures the essence of the mission?
What I like to imagine is that there’s an office in some out of the way corridor at the Pentagon where a couple of analysts with English degrees work day and night naming the battles. They come up with entire campaigns and then present the work, each little name neatly mounted on black presentation board, to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, before finally pitching the winning work to the President himself.
Can’t you just see the memo coming down from Powell imploring the guys to put a little more smile into the names saying, “Just because it’s a battle doesn’t mean it has to be so mean sounding.”
Could it be that there is a little department where all these great names emerge? I always wonder about this.
