Just watched an episode of "Warship" on Channel 5 (and I'm not sure if it is a repeat) and this episode featured HMS Ocean on exercise in the Far East. With due deference to to those out fighting for us in Afghanistan on very active service...is the Navy really like this? I've never been in the forces and probably have no right to criticise given the stuff being done in action. Nevertheless:
- Overweight crew members; I though you had to be fit to be in the forces?
- Matron in tears because she had to brief "her" girls on picking up the body of a fisherman found floating near the ship
- Matron warning them they will be sick ("don't look at the face"). OK, a dead body isn't pleasant but isn't this part of the training they receive, dealing with it?
- Seeming to fall over herself to ensure that neither her crew nor the Malaysian sailors to whose ship the body was transferred didn't "disrespect" the body during transfer
- From a layman's point of view, much of what was going on onboard seemed a bit...well, sloppy! (but with full understanding that fire & leak control exercises are by nature contrived)
I'm aware I'll attract brick-bats for this but am I the only one that sees it this way or is this symptomatic of the "I cried because they took my Ipod away" nature of some recruits? Is it all too PC now? Or was this TV show an unfortunate and unrepresentative snapshot of military life reflecting life in civvy street? Maybe it is, given the stories of outright bravery recounted during the awards of MCs last week.
I'm falling over myself to ensure no inferred criticism of those involved in the terrible stuff going on right now.