Acting

Jim Channon

James B. Channon was a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, New Age futurologist, and business consultant. He was primarily known for authoring the First Earth Battalion Operations Manual, a popular book pointing the way toward a New Age transformation in the U.S. military. Channon received a B.A. in fine art and an M.A. in behavioral communications from the University of Kentucky. He also held a Master of Military Arts and Sciences (M.M.A.S.) degree from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and a Master of Strategic Studies (M.S.S.) degree from the United States Army War College. He served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer from 1962 to 1982 and completed two tours in the Vietnam War (1965–66 and 1970–71), with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. His work and philosophy during his last years on active duty were documented by journalist Jon Ronson in his 2004 book The Men Who Stare at Goats. According to Ronson's book, Channon spent time between 1977 and 1979 with many of the people in California credited with starting the human potential movement (including forays to the Esalen Institute) and in 1979 wrote a 125-page "operations manual" for a proposed "First Earth Battalion".