The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries

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Maxim 01: Pillage, then burn.
Maxim 02: A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on.
Maxim 03: An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.
Maxim 04: Close air support covereth a multitude of sins.
Maxim 05: Close air support and friendly fire should be easier to tell apart.
Maxim 06: If violence wasn't your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it.
Maxim 07: If the food is good enough, the grunts will stop complaining about the incoming fire.
Maxim 08: Mockery and derision have their place. Usually, it's on the far side of the airlock.
Maxim 09: Never turn your back on an enemy.
Maxim 10: Sometimes the only way out is through. . . through the hull.
Maxim 11: Everything is air-droppable at least once.
Maxim 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head.
Maxim 13: Do unto others.
Maxim 14: "Mad Science" means never stopping to ask "what's the worst thing that could happen?"
Maxim 15: Only you can prevent friendly fire.
Maxim 16: Your name is in the mouth of others: be sure it has teeth.
Maxim 17: The longer everything goes according to plan, the bigger the impending disaster.
Maxim 18: If the officers are leading from in front, watch out for an attack from the rear.
Maxim 19: The world is richer when you turn enemies into friends, but that's not the same as you being richer.
Maxim 20: If you're not willing to shell your own position, you're not willing to win.
Maxim 21: Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Take his fish away and tell him he's lucky just to be alive, and he'll figure out how to catch another one for you to take tomorrow.
Maxim 22: If you can see the whites of their eyes, somebody's done something wrong.
Maxim 23: The company mess and friendly fire should be easier to tell apart
Maxim 24: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a big gun.
Maxim 25: If the damage you do is covered by a manufacturers warranty, you didn't do enough damage. (Amended: If a manufacturer's warranty covers the damage you did, you didn't do enough damage.)
Maxim 26: "Fire and Forget" is fine, provided you never actually forget.
Maxim 27: Don't be afraid to be the first to resort to violence.
Maxim 28: If the price of collateral damage is high enough, you might be able to get paid for bringing ammunition home with you.
Maxim 29: The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more. No less.
Maxim 30: A little trust goes a long way. The less you use, the further you'll go.
Maxim 31: Only cheaters prosper.
Maxim 32: Anything is amphibious if you can get it back out of the water.
Maxim 33: If you're leaving tracks, you're being followed.
Maxim 34: If you're leaving scorch-marks, you need a bigger gun.
Maxim 35: That which does not kill you has made a tactical error. (Amended: That which does not kill me has made a tactical error.)
Maxim 36: When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support.
Maxim 37: There is no 'overkill.' There is only 'open fire' and 'I need to reload.' (Amended: There is no "overkill." There is only "open fire" and "reload.")
Maxim 38: Just because it's easy for you doesn't mean it can't be hard on your clients. (Amended: What's easy for you can still be hard on your clients.)
Maxim 39: There is a difference between spare parts and extra [parts].
Maxim 40: Not all good news is enemy action.
Maxim 41: "Do you have a backup?" means "I can't fix this."
Maxim 42: "They'll never expect this" means "I want to try something stupid."
Maxim 43: If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.
Maxim 44: If it will blow a hole in the ground, it will double as an entrenching tool.
Maxim 45: The size of the combat bonus is inversely proportional to the likelihood of surviving to collect it.
Maxim 46: Don't try to save money by conserving ammunition.
Maxim 47: Don't expect the enemy to cooperate in the creation of your dream engagement.
Maxim 48: If it ain't broke, it hasn't been issued to the infantry.
Maxim 49: Every client is one missed payment away from becoming a target and every target is one bribe away from becoming a client.
Maxim 50: If it only works in exactly the way the manufacturer intended, it is defective.
Maxim 51: Let them see you sharpen the sword before you fall on it.
Maxim 52: The army you've got is never the army you want.
Maxim 53: The intel you've got is never the intel you want.
Maxim 54: The best way to win a one-on-one fight is to be the third to arrive. (Amended: It's only too many troops if you can't pay them.)
Maxim 55: It's only too many weapons if they're pointing in the wrong direction.
Maxim 56: Infantry exists to paint targets for people with real guns.
Maxim 57: Artillery exists to launch large chunks of budget at an enemy it cannot actually see.
Maxim 58: The pen is mightiest when it writes orders for more swords.
Maxim 59: "Two wrongs is probably not going to be enough."
Maxim 60: Any weapon's rate of fire is inversely proportional to the number of available targets.
Maxim 61: Don't bring big grenades into small rooms.
Maxim 62: Anything labeled "This end toward enemy" is dangerous at both ends.
Maxim 63: The brass knows how to do it by knowing who can do it.
Maxim 64: An ounce of sniper is worth a pound of suppressing fire.
Maxim 65: After the toss, be the one with the pin, not the one with the grenade.
Maxim 66: Necessity is the mother of deception.
Maxim 67: If you can't carry cash, carry a weapon.
Maxim 68: Negotiating from a position of strength does not mean you shouldn't also negotiate from a position near the exits.
Maxim 69: Sometimes rank is a function of firepower.
Maxim 70: Failure is not an option - it is mandatory. The option is whether or not to let failure be the last thing you do.