Jack of Harts

We just celebrated Columbus Day. We live in a world shaped by the voyage of discovery Columbus and so many others made in the last few hundred years. Our ancestors traveled the world, and brought new ideas and ways of living into existence. We traveled beneath the sea after we visited everything we could upon it, and then we went into space and set our feet upon the dust of another world. We live in a better world today than the one Columbus inhabited, filled with more knowledge and ability than any time in recorded history. We have made the world a better place by seeking out other places, peoples, and knowledge. By bringing home the best of them, and by sending forth the best of us, we have made all of us better. We should always seek that.

Centralia and Montanya are two other fictional nations America fights around. The Marine Corps go into war-torn Centralia to protect them from evil Montanyan aggression on a regular basis. Some scenarios say it is after a long Centralian civil war where a Montanyan-supported revolutionary force continues disrupting Centralia. Some scenarios deal with an outright invasion of Centralia by Montanyan regular forces. All major scenarios I have tracked down detail joint operations between the Marine Corps and other services or other national armed forces. Rather than focusing on brute firepower, those scenarios focus on using non-standard informational and communications capabilities to disrupt, demoralize, counteract, or otherwise reduce enemy operations and abilities. Whatever the exact scenario, all Marines recognize the long and sordid tale of Centralia and Montanya.

The most famous fictional American battleground in the civilian world is the People’s Republic of Pineland. Physically located in North Caroline, it is constantly under attack from the evil North Atlantica. Pineland has a flag, a motto, a real fictional history, and money. The locals see this happen every year, local law enforcement actively participates, and you can buy Pineland clothing and patches in real life. This created a deadly scenario when a law enforcement officer unaware of the game caught some soldiers being sneaky. They tried to bribe him with Pineland money, which he didn’t recognize, and the situation escalated until he shot two soldiers dead. Local law enforcement now wears special patches or insignia during the scenarios to tell soldiers this is an officer they can be in character with. Another example of America’s training scenarios influencing the real world.