Grandmaster, you make a good point, however, let me give you a different perspective on how this negatively impacts military personnel, and how that impact endangers every American.
I believe everyone rogers up that crimes perpetuated by a few individuals is wrong, should be condemned and those responsible should be held accountable by the UCMJ.
However, what has happened is the N.Y. Times and other "against the war effort" tabloids have gone on a crusade to broadly publicize just about every incident. Their broad based effort to give incidents which are under investigation page after page of space, serve our enemy just as much as the perpetuators serve our enemy with their acts. First of all, we know terrorists are not ignorant on how to use the media to further their cause. So, these things have an effect. Some, are no doubt planted by terrorists and given to the media who are more than willing write anything negative about the American military.
Secondarily, not many Americans realize the cost to military personnel when these incidents are publicized and given a lot of airing. Liberty is severely curtailed and often not allowed, or draconian measures are taken which negatively impact the quality of life people have while serving their country.
I'll give you a recent example; in Greece, when a ship pulls in the only way someone can go on liberty is by going with three to five other military members. Curfew is 10pm. No one can spend the night in town, rent a car, rent a moped, or venture further than specific areas of the surrounding city. These measures have been put in place, largely because of one incident that happened five years ago. A sailor broke into an elderly ladies house, was caught by the lady in her home. He ran out of the house with her purse and in the process pushed her down. She broke her leg falling.
The press in Greece, which is extremely negative toward the American military, went on a field day publicizing the event. The perpetuator got 5 years in a Greece cell.
This incident and other more minor infractions, caused leadership to clamp down on liberty out of fear of losing the strategically important facilities in Greece.
The same sort of thing is happening all over the world. The quality of life of decent hard working military personnel is being severely impacted by overzealous tabloids looking for ways to punch the American military in the nose. Americans who play into their hands only serve the interest of our enemies.
Does that mean we should ignore or condone illegal acts committed by a few military personnel who perpetuate them? Of course not, but we should have a certain level of faith in the court system of the military, and how it goes about exacting justice when crimes are committed. We shouldn't assume that unless pictures are beamed around the world, and hundreds of stories are written nothing will be done about the incident and it will be covered up.
Never before has our military been under the microscope like it is today. And the problem is, it's largely a negative filter that's used, instead of a clear one showing both good and bad incidents.
Yes, they represent the American people and should be held to a high standard of professionalism. I agree, but let’s also not forget they are largely young male Americans whose background doesn't often contain the right kind of moral examples needed to be successful in life under stressful situations. And there are always a few bad apples in the field.
Lastly, I would submit tourists, government workers and other DOD personnel overseas also represent the American people. And I've rarely seen them publicize what happens with girls under the age of 15 in the back alleys of the Phillipines or Thailand. |
