Respect and gratitude for the military
Taxying in at Anchorage last week the flight attendant drew attention to a US Army SNCO in battle fatigues who was returning home from service in Iraq and suggested a round of applause - which was duly given with some cheering added. Saw a similar thing on American Eagle in Wisconsin last year, and I gather it happens on many flights, with fellow pax buying the military pax drinks, for example. My hotel has many military guests all proudly wearing their uniforms. A US Air Force Master Sergeant returning early to his family got 2-3 minutes national coverage on CNN earlier today.
There is just as much, if not more, criticism of the wars with the politicians and in the Press and TV over here, but even in the media the military are generally treated with respect and where there are "anti" military stories, eg on civilian casualties, they do not seem to attract the same level of negative journalism we so often see in the UK, even though it is possible to detect the Pentagon spin on many stories.
Why the difference? Are our military usually directly associated with the unpopular decisions of their political masters in a way they are not in the USA? Does the direct link of the NG units to their communities mean that there is a better understanding of and sympathy for the military "lot"? Are the UK military, led by the MOD Press Office, now part of the culture of spin in the UK? Have we gone too far in trying to keep our military out of the public gaze, perhaps because MOD would not like some of their stories to get more attention than they already do - often thanks to PPRuNer's and the like.
What, please, are your views?
Last edited by John Blakeley; 11th May 2007 at 17:15.
Reason: Spelling