whenurhappy,
Many things I am, naive is not one of them.
Actually I don't disagree with the thrust of your post...but you've missed my point.
I don't say that public image is not important to organisations...clearly it is.
I point out that in a democracy, it is up to the individual how much they allow the opinions of others to dictate how they behave.
I try to act on my principles; not on other peoples. Many on here feel the same. The vast majority of military people I worked with were men and women of character, not of straw. It is also a pre requisite of leadership (IMHO) that anybody in charge of people needs to be able to stand up and be counted when right needs to be done...irrespective of personal cost and irrespective of "public" opinion.
If these guys have broken any regulations they will be dealth with by the chain of command. If they have not broken any regulations, I would expect (demand) the chain of command to stick up for them. Public opinion can go **** itself.