On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 11:36:25 -0600, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 01:16:11 -0600, "B.B."
. ru wrote:

In article ,
Don Foreman wrote:

[...]

OK, you did ask.

Thank you. I did ask, I did honestly want to know, and I appreciate
your comments. I don't disagree with everything you lay out here, but I
want to clarify a few spots where I think you assumed too much. I'll
clip away old quotes and the bits where I simply agree with you to keep
this from getting too long.

[...]

You've been told that the military exists to be ready for war and to
wage it when the elected authorities direct it to do so. That should
have been obvious, but you have been told in case it wasn't. Your
stated position of being disgusted with what the military is doing
and having no respect at all for the Commander in Chief, even
calling him an idiot, is a bad attitude for a member of the
military. In fact, it is a completely unacceptable attitude which
would not be tolerated. You may not like the next CIC any better.
Being a politician is a popularity contest. Being a commander and
leader is not.

Looking for clarification. Are you saying it's unacceptable to feel
as I do, or just unacceptable to act on it?

I said neither. Read it again.

In every other facet of my
life I've been capable of separating political disagreement with
fulfilling my duties--whatever they were. Or simply controlling
impulses. That actually kind of gets back to the gist of my initial
question: could I separate belief about this war from action in the
military? It seems you assumed that I could not and went from there.

That's right. Your joining the military with present attitudes makes
about as much sense as for a pro-lifer to apply for a job in the
laundry at an abortion clinic.

But I do not know. Perhaps it is the case that the military life
requires a person to inherently agree with the political leadership
beyond merely following orders. If that really is the case, then yeah,
I'd agree with you that I should not be in the military.

Military people can disagree about politics, but it is both dishonest
and foolish to work in a place, military or otherwise, where you
hold both the leadership and the mission of the organization in
contempt. It would be particularly stupid to do this in a place where
quitting is not an option, once joined.

Indeed. Excellent synopsis in all of your posts btw.

Gunner



"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
- Proverbs 22:3