A TV interview this afternoon about rigorous rules of engagement in Afghanistan caught my attention. My first conclusion was that the mothers of dead warriors can rest assured that their loved one died a perfect gentleman.
The important thing is the feeling of the Afghans. We show our respect of their feelings with our strict rules of engagement. One specific example is that our troops cannot fire on suspected combatants unless they see weapons. Do you think this works because Afghanistan has strict concealed weapon carry laws?
I was wondering who the person shoveling the horse hockey off the truck, P. J. Crowley, was. He did say that he knew what the soldiers were experiencing since he had also served. Whew there’s a relief, he knows, been there, done that.
I wanted to find out what warrior P.J. Crowley had done in service to his country. You know what fox holes, where, etc. I was also interested what his position was in DoD. I was shocked to find out that Crowley was in the Department of State. Shades of Colin Powell and his Iraq military policy bullying. The final crushing blow was finding out that P.J. Crowley’s service was as an Air Force Colonel. I’m thinking the good Colonel never actually occupied a fox hole with a soldier in combat. I am not sure what Crowley understands about getting shot at and restrictive rules of engagement.
When our heroes die a gentleman’s death they can rest in peace becausse they did not upset the sensibilities of anyone.
In a perfect world, no one outside the combat zone would get a vote on the ROEs… nor would anyone outside it have the hubris it takes to judge them.
Silliness starts at home. I was a Drill Sergeant at Ft. Ord in the late 60s. An ancient response to a DS’s shouted question, “What is the spirit of the bayonet, trainees?,” was “To kill, Drill Sergeant, to kill.” Death frequently does occur, in fact, when one has one’s body penetrated by a bayonet. An almost unadvoidable consequence.
We were told by our superiors that particular response was no longer acceptable. One of my genius fellow DSs suggested that we instruct the trainees that the proper response to the question would now be, “To tickle, Drill Sergeant, to tickle,” while extending their arms overhead and wiggling their fingers.
We frequently did such things to irritate colonels and generals. It generally worked splendidly because those ranks are usually adverse to being ridiculed and Drill Sergeants (of that era) were arrogant hard heads who didn’t buckle under. Soon “to kill” became much more palatable to the brass than “to tickle” when conducting bayonet practice.