Entertaining thread this one, it's even better than listening to the 'hard done by souls' who put their own lack of success down to yet another Masonic conspiracy. I have had the good fortune to have served in the Royal Air Force as a pilot for almost 20 years including those halcyon days of UAS/BFT. I am also a Lewis, for the as yet uninitiated, the son of a freemason entitled to join at a much earlier age than that normally permitted. I grew up with freemasonry having a major influence on my life, learning tolerance, acceptance of others despite any perceived failings and above all respect for a system that does not willingly tolerate misdeeds of its own members. Perhaps society generally would profit from the principled guidance I have received over the years, giving less fortunate people a reason not to destroy the fabric of their own environment both physically and by the fear they plant into the minds of their more vulnerable neighbours. It is more often the fear of failing in the eyes of ones own peer group that encourages certain behaviour, particularly in deprived areas. Parents fail their own children because they do not understand themselves when behaviour has become inappropriate, and society fails itself because there is no structure for those who consider things to be wrong to turn to. If more people took to freemasonry perhaps the accumulated wisdom and genuine friendship one can find in all parts of The World may go some way to preventing the intolerable and entirely avoidable deprivation we witness today.
So what has this got to do with freemasonry and military service? I live quite happily by the codes of service life, sadly they are being eroded by a society that ever increasingly insists that our own attitudes and the way we conduct our affairs is not reflective of the society we purport to represent. We weaken our own leaders by making them fear their own decisions made on the now shaky ground of previous experience. Armchair experts crucify any error made in the field without incuring criticism of their often dubious analysis (Jacko!) and fewer and fewer young adults see value in service life of any form. It is often that I reflect that many of my own opinions and moral stances are not those of my own at all, rather a mixture of all those around me. I am considered by others (seen it in writing) to be a tolerant, fair and balanced individual, not the heroic dashing leader of men I would have liked to have been. I am rather glad of this as that is an underlying principle of the ancient society to which I belong. Freemasonry is not to be feared, those who join our ranks in order to effect pecuniary or 'other' gain are usually seen but a few times and resign with an all too obvious disappointment. There is no selection procedure other than a self imposed one. No one will invite you to join. Only those who seek to understand for themselves will stay. Freemasonry has given me the moral courage to stand by my decisions even if they have been unpopular, as well as the humility to accept when I am wrong. More importantly while everything falls apart around us all, and our leaders jump like frightened rabbits every time an unelected EU minister says boo, I can periodically spend time in a place were sanity prevails and the latest band waggon rolls past the outside of a locked door and we just ignore it.