--- Bryon Daly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A touching story. I'm surprised and disappointed by > the apparent > intolerance of the Army to the marriage, though. It > seems like too harsh a > reaction to it; I'm wondering if there's a bit more > to the story than the > article states.
I think one thing to keep in mind is that the Army is not like the civilian world...IIRC our Bn Sgt Major described it as a "Benevolent Dictatorship" or somesuch. When you join the armed forces you voluntarily give up some of the rights you have as a civilian in order to perform your job. I think what this guy did was definitely over the line. He was essentially fraternizing with the locals in a still potentially hostile combat zone. His flirting with a muslim local was definitely cavalier and reckless...the situation could have been completely different and he wouldn't have known at the time she would be receptive. Although it turned out well for him, it could have been different. WRT WWII, however, one thing you have to consider is that the situation was completely different. Both Germany and Japan were utterly defeated -- the Germans having absolutely no appetite to resistance after the Allies levelled their country, and the Japanese wanting to obey their Emperor (culture of Obedience) and military discipline in the immediate post-war period was much more lax than it was in the Cold War period, FREX. I think punishing this soldier is entirely appropriate, and I also think this is another example of pressure from civilians that don't really understand the military interfering with affairs they have no practical knowledge of... Damon. ===== ------------------------------------------------------------ Damon Agretto [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." http://www.geocities.com/garrand.geo/index.html Now Building: ------------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
