Daily Speculations

Spec Forum: Trading and War

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The hedge fund trader known as Mr. E, who has recently added a killing in beans to his list of victories, forwarded us this May 31, 1944, speech by General George S. Patton, Jr., to the  6th Armored Division in England:

Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. Men, all this stuff you've heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to
stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans, love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball players, the toughest boxers ... Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in Hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Now, an army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap. The biggest bastards who wrote that stuff about individuality for the Saturday Evening Post, don't know anything more about real battle than they do about fornicating. Now we have the finest food and
equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world. You know ... My God, I actually pity those poor bastards we're going up against. My God, I do. We're not just going to shoot the bastards, we're going to cut out their living guts
and use them to grease the treads of  our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun bastards by the bushel. Now some of you boys, I know, are wondering whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure
you that you'll all do your duty. The Nazis are the enemy. Wade into them. Spill their blood, shoot them in the belly. When you put your hand into a bunch of goo, that a moment before was your best friends face, you'll know what to do.
Now there's another thing I want you to remember. I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything, we'll let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly, and we're not interested
in holding on to anything except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose, and we're going to kick him in the ass. We're going to kick the hell out of him all the time, and we're going to go through him like crap through a goose. Now,
there's one thing that you men will be able to say when you get back home, and you may thank God for it. Thirty years from now when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you, What did you do in
the great World War Two? You won't have to say, Well, I shoveled shit in Louisiana. Alright now, you sons of bitches, you know how I feel. I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle anytime, anywhere. That's all.

-- General George S. Patton, Jr.

E comments: This speech is for everyone in all countries. Patton's must-win attitude is timeless. That must-win attitude is an absolute prerequisite for trading success or any life success for that matter.

Comment from James Lackey, veteran of the First Gulf War:

All the statistics I saw before rolling on G day were of little use in combat. As, if a vehicle would be
deadlined after 10 hours of use in training, false in war. Those forward projections came up as completely
useless in real combat. As long as the Gun Tube was loaded, could fire and the tank could move forward, we
attacked.

The first question everyone asked me is did you kill anyone? I tell my eight year old boy, No and thank
God I did not have to. He looks at me with some disappointment. "they bad guys right dad" Yes son
they were the enemy, but they still dads of Iraqi kids. "Yea but they,, the bad guy daddy, how come you
did not shoot any with your big gun?"

I always tell the story of enemy contact. First the fighter jets fly by, then the A-10 tank Killers. Then
the MRLS rockets and artillery boys light up the night. Smoke and stench filled the air, the glow of
oil well fires and the sunrise on the right flank. We move forward for attack, another artillery barrage,
white flags of surrender...men slaughtered as rounds already "on the way" There are no do-overs, or take
backs with live rounds.

Next question is what is war like? First do not sleep for 3 days. Wait backup no sex and separation form
loved ones for 3 months. Overtrain with the anxiety of battle for 3 months, then no sleep for 3 days. First,
put on a snow suit, turn up the heat in your small washroom to 100 degrees, next light a pack of cigarettes on fire for smoke. Insert ear plugs so you can hear breathe and heartbeat, take a handful of hair and burn that with some oil and a candle. Light a pack of Black Cat firecrackers with lights out. Every so often light an M-80 to knock the wind out of you, burn some more hair to represent flesh burning, use hair dryer to represent tank engine, communicate with friends via radio, play tank game, do not leave room for 100 hours, eat, try to sleep and no showers for 5 days, and yes, plenty of bottled water...

I posit you could handle about 45 minutes of such an experiment. I would refuse that challenge altogether. War is a disgusting, gross, nasty, necessary human endeavor. I do think the study of casualties vs. new technologies is usefully for the boys at West Point. However, I find little use for anything that is related to war in trading.

I must respectfully disagree with Mr E. War and the markets offer very few good analogies. Much of the
battle is within. It is not necessary to destroy your enemy to be victorious in trading. All though it may
feel similar, no way can we simulate the fear of  death.

The emotional pain of trading may sometimes feel like you are gonna die. However, in reality most battles
in the markets are more like sporting events than war. We know at the end of the day we hit the showers, sit
down at dinner and play with the kids before bed. Tomorrow is always a new day. I would hope we can
learn from the many champion athletes and gamesmen on the board.

War is a matter of life and death. I do not like how the politics of war affects men in battle. Regrettably
during an election year we must tolerate such attacks of honor.

May I request that we take the high road in regards to our American Warriors...LACK