I have never served and not sure about whether or not to comment.
Joe public looking from the outside.
But I have read a lot of history.
One thing is quite clear. The military is only useful if its Commanders are confident that when the time comes Senior Officers will follow orders. Period
History is littered with examples of incompetent political leadership leading the military into impossible situations.
But Battalion level Officers are not policy makers. Follow the chain of Command. Or you are on a hiding to nothing.
I would recommend Alan Brookes diaries on WW2 to anyone who thinks this hasn’t happened before.
What is equally clear to me as an Australian who remembers our shameful behaviour after the Vietnam war is respect your veterans.
We put them in harms way.
Hold them close and never let what happened after 1975 happen again.
Semper Fi.
Last edited by Grumpy retiree; 2nd Sep 2021 at 07:12.