Soldiers Charged in Drowning
It's about time that the DOD is beginning to clean up shop. Acts of brutality go back to the beginning of war, which goes before the beginning of man. Before man was, war waited for him. This fact does not excuse the use of brutality or inhumane treatment to civilians.
It seems there is an institutional mindset of cover your own ass in the military, which goes to degrade the effectiveness sometimes. The organization cannot better itself without knowing the mistakes that it has made. It cannot better train its people unless it knows where the deficiencies are. And with the CYA mentality that cannot happen. So the same ole things are done in the same ole things.
These actions were not in the heat of battle. The soldiers had not just been victorious over a determined and tenacious enemy and had succumbed to bloddlust. No. These were civilians who had defied a curfew. So for punishment they were thrown into a river. Not by common soldiers, but by the company commander. And the fucking first sergeant helped him do it. What madness is this???
The Army, like any well-oiled military machine depends on its noncommissioned officers, especially its senior and staff-grade noncommissioned officers to keep it's machinery running. But how can it do so when their fucking staff grade noncoms, the ones with the largest responsibility, and the greatest trust placed in them are doing stupid shit like this???? When the troops have the blood-lust coming over them, its up to the noncoms and the officers to maintain discipline!!!!
This is just insane. War is ugly. War is not pretty. War is destruction and well disciplined barbarism. But in this there was no discipline. It goes right up to the battalion commander on this one. My God, all of them should be court-martialed. Ultimately its the commander who is in command, who is responsible. That the battalion commander knew about it and then lied about it only makes it worse.
The military needs to start cleaning house. To allow these things to happen and to ward of embarrassment by hiding them only makes it worse. Discipline MUST be maintained. Order MUST be maintained. There are no two ways about it.
I don't know what else to say about this one, guys...except I hope that some good comes out of the bad.
It seems there is an institutional mindset of cover your own ass in the military, which goes to degrade the effectiveness sometimes. The organization cannot better itself without knowing the mistakes that it has made. It cannot better train its people unless it knows where the deficiencies are. And with the CYA mentality that cannot happen. So the same ole things are done in the same ole things.
These actions were not in the heat of battle. The soldiers had not just been victorious over a determined and tenacious enemy and had succumbed to bloddlust. No. These were civilians who had defied a curfew. So for punishment they were thrown into a river. Not by common soldiers, but by the company commander. And the fucking first sergeant helped him do it. What madness is this???
The Army, like any well-oiled military machine depends on its noncommissioned officers, especially its senior and staff-grade noncommissioned officers to keep it's machinery running. But how can it do so when their fucking staff grade noncoms, the ones with the largest responsibility, and the greatest trust placed in them are doing stupid shit like this???? When the troops have the blood-lust coming over them, its up to the noncoms and the officers to maintain discipline!!!!
This is just insane. War is ugly. War is not pretty. War is destruction and well disciplined barbarism. But in this there was no discipline. It goes right up to the battalion commander on this one. My God, all of them should be court-martialed. Ultimately its the commander who is in command, who is responsible. That the battalion commander knew about it and then lied about it only makes it worse.
The military needs to start cleaning house. To allow these things to happen and to ward of embarrassment by hiding them only makes it worse. Discipline MUST be maintained. Order MUST be maintained. There are no two ways about it.
I don't know what else to say about this one, guys...except I hope that some good comes out of the bad.
posted by Jim at 7/04/2004 12:54:00 AM
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