Before I begin, I should remind the reader that I am a proud Military Brat. I grew up on international Air Force bases. I love the American military because I understand it at a level that people who have never been associated with the armed forces, whether in uniform or not, can't understand. That said, I can no longer remain silent.
Fredrick Douglass once said, "A patriot is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse it's sins." It is in that definition of patriotism that I read with a heavy heart yet another example of crimes committed by American servicemen against Japanese citizens. These are not minor crimes either, I'm talking about theft, rape, gang rape, and murder. Not a month goes by that another of these stories doesn't hit the news cycle. It's always the same. An enlisted man gets drunk and then does something so mind buggeringly stupid that it damages a 60 year old political and military alliance. It's been going on for years but the most recent dust up started about 11 months ago when a marine allegedly raped a 14 year old girl. Although the case was later dropped, reportedly because the parents didn't want to put their daughter through the ordeal of a trial, accusation is the same as conviction in the court of public opinion (and too frequently in the Japanese legal system) and so the damage was done. Today's story was about a naval petty officer who allegedly stabbed a 61-year old Japanese taxi driver to death.
I understand that this has received little or no coverage in the US news media. Considering the current political climate, that is understandable if not excusable. I can provide links to sources for these stories if it is requested in the comment section.
That's it for the reporting, now for the commentary:
What the hell happened to the military I grew up in? More specifically, what the hell happened to the discipline and training that made us the envy of the world? The people who have allegedly committed these crimes, guilty or not, have brought shame and dishonor down upon a worldwide organization. When you put on that uniform, you become a part of something bigger than yourself and your successes and failures, professional or personal, reflect on that group.
I preface this next statement with the following: I have never gone through basic training for any branch, nor do I intend to and it has been over a decade since I was a part of military life. Last I checked, the group connection that I spoke of in the previous paragraph was the first thing taught to the recruits. That's also why Conduct Unbecoming a (insert name of branch here) has been an offense meriting discharge since time immemorial. Regardless of whether or not the military justice system throws the book to them, the men involved in these crimes clearly didn't get the message and the armed forces will be better without them.
I believe that this is a symptom of a larger problem. Specifically, the current state of recruitment practices. Understandably enough, war time is when recruitment rates in an all volunteer army falls like a stone. Considering that our forces are being stretched way too thin at the moment, we need all the men and women we can get. Therefore, all branches have been forced to drastically drop recruitment requirements in order to meet quotas. This includes a lower passing bar on intelligence and psychological testing and a willingness to permit those with criminal backgrounds to train with firearms. If this sounds like anything but a bad idea then you need reading lessons.
When you take dumb, psychologically unsound, former criminals, put them in uniform, arm them, and force them to face the fact that death is a real possibility for the immediate future, you are asking for trouble. Add to that the fact that many of the younger enlisted men and officers see military service as the world's greatest frat house (an image the USMC seems to actively encourage) and you have a recipe for disaster. The people who fight for our country, who we trust billions of dollars of equipment to, need to be the best and brightest and not the lowest common denominator.
After all this, I still hate to say anything against the military. But when a culture that you
love (and that's what the military is, a culture all its own) is under siege, then you have to say something. I started this post with a quote, so I'll end with one.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." --Mark Twain
1 comment:
Well Said!!!
The frightening thing as far as the recruiting mess is concerned is that the figures, which show a five-fold in past criminal records being wavered, is usually based on highly minimized stats.
While I never worked as a recruiter, I number a few amongst past colleagues, and the "let's see what we can get away with" game gets ratcheted up to considerable heights in times of increased tension or war.
One factor seems to be the differences in the various services. Your experience was primarily with Air Force bases and installations, and there is a reason new folk looking for rentals were told to wear their blues when meeting landlords if there were, or had recently been, Army or Marine types stationed locally.
There is also something about young troops being stationed in Asia, as opposed to Europe. Living in Europe is living in a foreign land, but there are so many similarities that most people understand the similarities of culture and accepted behavior. Asian assignments are far less familiar. Europe is foreign, Asia is alien. A kid on his/her first overseas assignment can't read most of the signs, has roughly zero recognition of any of the language, and has heard too many (usually apocryphal) stories dating back decades, which he/she allows fear of the unknown to magnify into some kind of private truth.
Commanders are obviously putting up with a lot more than they used to, and the Non-Commissioned Officer cadre doesn't seem to be doing much either.
I recall, however, that the number of people who equated military service with being a job, rather than a career, was on the increase ten years ago, and probably never slowed down.
A rash of such behavior as you described happened at a couple of Army posts in Germany several years back, and it wasn't until Community Commanders established a blanket "do the crime off base, get turned over to local authorities" policy, with prosecution by military authorities to follow, that people got the message. Too many people had heard stories about some clown that does a crime off-base, makes it to the base just ahead of the Poletzei, and is sent back to The States on the next aircraft where he was quietly discharged. Such expectations do not promote civilized behavior.
No idea what the command structure is doing in Japan, Korea, etc., but something does need to be done.
On the other hand, as the proposed drawdown of troops stationed in Japan and other place starts to kick in next year (unless the new Administration has other ideas), the situation may have its own solution.
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