it isn't new to me but still surprising

It seems to me that there has been a continuing pattern of militarization of society in the U.S. Hasn’t military combat been one of the most attractive stories in TV drama and films industries? We had, in the past, movies and TV series like James Bond, Combat, Rambo, Delta Force, Navy Seal, GI Jane, etc. I do not remember all those movies that came out in earlier days but I do remember that when we played battles we were mimicking American films. In a society where juntas used to rule the country, militarization of society was just common daily life. We were all virtual citizen soldiers. We had two to three hours of military training in high school, although the government later changed the curriculum and dropped the mandatory training from public school. I mean that militarization of society should not be considered a symptom exclusively of information society and game industry. ROTC has existed in college campus in decades. It has been on every corners of the planet where political and commercial interests met gun power. Unfortunately, as far as I am aware of, U.S.’s direct (military) and indirect (such as CIA) involvements in coups have been debating issue in almost every coup case. It will take long time to talk about this, so I will skip that part.
Of course, anyway, Stahl’s nice summary as to how fake reality in games become real reality in battle field tell us a dismal image of the modern entertainment industry, or industry-like society. Television reality cooked up through embedded reporters and publicities successfully maintain a low-intensity war at living rooms of all households. And after the news, juveniles, sometimes adults, of the household go back to their rooms to play more-than-real video games. Sooner or later, the juveniles would enlist army reserves. Who knows whether the juvenile later will be hired by private militia companies which provide security service when government officials visit a battle field for publicity purpose accompanying reporters? Chances are, if the juveniles are smart enough, they can be Dustin Hoffmans in the film “Wag the Dog,” and will be picked up to carry out low-intensity war. And there is money that energizes this seemingly never-ending loop.
Yes, I agree that the network has provided the best railway for the never-satisfied locomotive to race through all over the society and that “like reality’s most intimate counterpart, the dream, virtuous war requires a critical awakening if we are not to sleepwalk through the manifold travesties of war, whether between states or tribes, classes or castes, genders, or generations” (p. 127).