Knowing what type of war you are signing up for is paramount. It is doubtful whether Europe would have rushed to war in 1914 if they could have foreseen the reality of the Western Front. Ukraine intimates that future wars will be industrial, mass casualty affairs, characterized by agonizingly slow process and the mass consumption of both human biomass and industrial material. The War in Ukraine has been much larger, more expensive, and less decisive than Americans are used to and has shown that the military value of American wealth, power, and technological sophistication are limited. It should be taken as an opportunity to learn important lessons in order to avoid still worse disasters.