Originally Posted by Top Bunk Tester
One thing I've noticed about military websites in particular. They seem to be populated by professional paragons who have never put a foot wrong (or possibly never held that much responsibility for weighing, accepting and taking risks). Such 'perfect' posters appear eager to judge and come down like a ton of bricks on anyone 'guilty' of the least sign of human frailty, especially if it involves a royal prince or a similarly high-profile figure unable to respond in kind. Is it any surprise that we've become so risk-averse these days, both as a nation and as the armed forces? Hold people (and units/services) to account by all means but don't write them off professionally just because of an isolated incident.
Taking pride of place in my downstairs loo is a small framed section of the hull of a ship I impaled on a steel-capped pile during a particulary heavy berthing on a gusty Friday afternoon with an onshore Force 8 and no tugs available. This keepsake was presented to me by my ship's company when, still a relatively junior officer, I relinquished Command a year later. Why was my ship's company so appreciative? It was their final opportunity to take weekend leave after a long and demanding work-up before deploying east of Suez for eight months. By not standing off or going to anchor, they were in time to catch their trains home.
Fortunately for me, this was at a time when my entire competence and subsequent career weren't judged on the basis of a single incident. The damage was repaired by the time we left UK but I still received a well-deserved rollicking from CINCFLEET for breaking his ship.
