“We all went berserk after watching this,” said Andrei, who had begun to beat the suspect. “He fell to the ground. I ordered him to get up but he couldn’t because of his handcuffs. I ordered the cuffs off but something was wrong with the lock. I became angrier and ordered one of my sergeants to get them off no matter what.
“So he took an axe and chopped his arms off. The prisoner screamed in agony. Clearly it would have been impossible to interrogate him further so I shot him in the head.”
For those who wonder why the Navy isn’t experiencing a period of transformational enlightenment such as the Army, I would offer that we’re not experiencing this.
If we were, things would be a lot different around here.
The speed of today’s news cycle is astounding. Think about how much information you process on a daily basis. Now think about how much information was even available in, say, the 1960s.
I personally think this rapid increase in information availability is the reason in the decline of responsible reporting. Seriously, do you think Walter Cronkite would give two shits about baby Hailey Anthony, or some kid who killed himself because he was bullied? Not to say those situations aren’t horrible. They are, but they are merely one instance of similar cases that happen all over the country. What makes those special? Why do they get headlines and hours of coverage? The need to generate headlines.
How global you ask? 20 folks in America, 81 in Mexico. And?
China? No.
Russia? England? France? Nyet, Fraid not old chap, and Le Nope.
New Zealand? 22 Folks…. Who just visited Mexico.
For three weeks.
Quite the global pandemic if you ask me. In fact, I’m buying air purifiers and surgical masks as we speak. (Online shopping, of course.)
I miss the days of dead-pan, responsible reporting. Is this flu problem an issue? Certainly. But is it a “global pandemic the likes of which may bring about the apocalyspe!!!!?!?!??!”
Probably not.
But maybe I’m just jaded. I’m going to go take a nap in my hermetically sealed bedroom with my sanitized picture of Edward R. Murrow and dream about the glory days.
ILE student MAJ Richard Lake introduces guest speaker LTC Paul Yingling, participating from Iraq on April 2.
It’s a truly rare moment when a LtCol is the guest speaker for a room full of Majors, Lieutenant Commanders, and Field Grade Officers from around the globe.
It’s an even more rare moment when that LtCol uses the opportunity to call the establishment out onto the rug.
I was less certain about his methods of leader development, so I asked about the company commander’s preparations for deployment. For example, prior to deployment, who had the authority to cancel PT in the event of an electrical storm? He answered, ‘the brigade commander had that authority.’ I then asked him, who had the authority to change the PT uniform, if for example it was warmer than expected? That decision was at the battalion level. This company commander, who only a few months ago lacked the authority to tell his troops to come in out of the rain or take off their hats, was now expected to pursue the enemy unto death.
Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.
Definitely an article worth all of your time to read.
I wish I could find out how the Q&A session went afterwords.
From an email flying around… “Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you.
Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.
One died for your soul,
The other died for your freedom.
