The Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade

The Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade was a short-lived but intense campaign of patriotic intimidation initiated by Captain Black in Joseph Heller's Catch-22, designed to harass the squadron's combat personnel and to socially and administratively isolate the newly appointed squadron commander, Major Major Major Major. It represents the novel's most concentrated satire of performative patriotism, bureaucratic bullying, and the ease with which institutional power can be hijacked for petty personal vendettas.

Origins and Motivation

The crusade was born from Captain Black's bitter resentment after being passed over for promotion to squadron commander. When Major Duluth was killed over Perugia, Black assumed he was the logical successor, being the squadron intelligence officer and therefore, in his view, more intelligent than everyone else. He also reasoned that his non-combat status was an advantage, as he could fill the post indefinitely without risk. While Black was imagining his ascension, Colonel Cathcart acted, appointing Major Major instead. Flabbergasted and embittered, Black muttered that there was "something funny going on" and soon asserted that Major Major was a Communist. "They're taking over everything," he declared rebelliously, announcing that from then on he would make every man who came to his intelligence tent sign a loyalty oath—and that he would not let Major Major sign one even if he wanted to.

Course of the Crusade

Almost overnight, the crusade was in full flower. All enlisted men and officers on combat duty had to sign a loyalty oath to get their map cases from the intelligence tent, a second to receive flak suits and parachutes, a third to ride from the squadron to the airfield, and more to get their pay, their PX supplies, and even a haircut. Captain Black, determined to stand second to none in devotion to country, escalated relentlessly. When other officers introduced their own oaths, he made every man sign two, then three, then four; he introduced the pledge of allegiance, and after that "The Star-Spangled Banner," one chorus, then two, three, four. The combat men found themselves dominated by the administrators appointed to serve them, bullied and harassed all day long. To anyone who questioned the effectiveness of the oaths, Black replied that people who really did owe allegiance to their country would be proud to pledge it as often as he forced them to. "The important thing is to keep them pledging," he explained to his cohorts. "It doesn't matter whether they mean it or not." He enforced the doctrine of "Continual Reaffirmation," designed to trap those who had become disloyal since the last time they signed. Captain Piltchard and Captain Wren, the joint squadron operations officers, found the crusade a "glorious pain in the ass" as it complicated their task of organizing crews, but they were too timid to raise an outcry. Milo Minderbinder, initially opposed, was pressured into participating when Captain Black's delegation warned him that refusing would look bad to the F.B.I. and that the program was voluntary—but they needed him to starve the men if they didn't sign. Doc Daneeka also surrendered when threatened with transfer to the Pacific.

Collapse and Aftermath

The crusade was shattered by a single stroke from Major -- de Coverley. Returning from Rome with an injured eye, the majestic, white-haired executive officer strode into the mess hall, found his way blocked by a wall of officers waiting to sign loyalty oaths, and simply commanded, "Gimme eat." When Corporal Snark offered him a loyalty oath instead, Major -- de Coverley swept it away with fiery disdain and roared, "Give everybody eat!" Milo echoed the order with joyful relief, and the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade came to an end. Captain Black was deeply disillusioned by this "treacherous stab in the back" from someone in high place upon whom he had relied for support. He rationalized that their purpose—to make everyone they didn't like afraid and to alert people to the danger of Major Major—had been accomplished. The crusade's memory lingered, and during the Great Big Siege of Bologna, Black nostalgically recalled the days when even big shots like Milo Minderbinder, Doc Daneeka, and Piltchard and Wren had trembled at his approach. To prove to newcomers that he had once been a man of consequence, he still kept the letter of commendation he had received from Colonel Cathcart.