|
I don't mean to take sides in this, one way or the other. Personaly, I think that anyone who has been in close combat, has the God given right to say what ever they want, and in any way they want.
However, in this new era of "Embedded Reporters" and the massive proliferation of video cameras in the combat environment, the military in general is starting to learn the same hard lessons that the civilian police agencies have been coping with for the past few decades. I've worked and trained with civilian police agencies over the past 15 years, and a tough lesson they try to teach the officers, is that anything you say and do in the field, can be taped, photographed and otherwise documented and come back to bite your ass when you least expect it. I know that when in a combat, life & death, situation that it is all you can do to keep your ass in one piece without having to worry about who's looking over your shoulder. But the fact remains that there is always someone looking over your shoulder and watching you.
The High-fiving and rough comments stated in the heat of the moment, WILL be misunderstood and misreported by and to others who WILL judge you from the comfort of their homes. It ain't right, it ain't fair, but it IS FACT! It is something that needs to be taught to our people who are sent to fight, as long as we are going to allow this kind of documentation.
I firmly believe that this level of post combat exuberence has been happening since the dawn of armed combat, reguardless of nationality. Even during WW's I & II if you'd been a fly on the wall of any conflict you'd have heard much of what we hear today. But during these earlier conflicts, the press stayed in the safe areas, far behind the lines, and was spoon fed what the Generals and Politicians wanted them to hear, and very few combatants carried cameras and no civilians had cameras, let alone the means to get their images out to the world. These days however, almost every swinging dick is carrying their own camera and has satellite internet access. They have everything they need to show what they are going through, to the world, except the good judgement of how to do it, or more importantly, how NOT to use it.
As with so many other problems, I feel the answer comes in the form of training. We should be teaching our people who serve, from day one, that anything they say, do, write, express, photograph or otherwise document, can and will find it's way to some liberal, Kum-ba-ya singin' long hair son of a motherless goat, who will be more than happy to twist what they see to make our people look bad. And it ain't just the liberal leftwing these days. Now, right here in Denver, we got a bunch of crazy ultra-right-wing ass holes protesting at funeral services for fallen soldiers saying that God killed them to punish us for being such a liberal society. So now our people are getting screwed from all points of the compass. They NEED to be taught that even in the middle of the firefight, people are listing and judging every thing they say, and everything they do.
Other than the teaching of our people, the only answer would be to take a lesson from the past, and have the military control and censor everything leaving the combat area. Good luck on that these days.
Again, I don't mean to judge our people right or wrong. What they do is up to them by my standing. But there are many out there who want nothing more than to see our people fail and they are looking for anything they can use, much like the whole Rodney King incident with the LAPD.
To any of our brothers and sisters in the field, do yourselves a favor and keep your pics to yourself at least long enough to give them a second thought before showing them to the world. There's a lot of evil SOB's out there that will turn the tables on you in a NY Second, and your NCO's and Officers won't be able to help once it's out, and the politicians will just hang you out to dry. I know it sucks, but thats the world we live in.
Hang tough.
"Slow is Fast - Fast is Slow"
_________________ Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
