On Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:18:51 -0800, Hawke
wrote:

On 12/1/2010 10:06 PM, Don Foreman wrote:
On Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:57:11 -0800, Bill Noble
wrote:

On 12/1/2010 3:27 AM, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Don Foreman wrote:


Truth is, the CIC doesn't have to salute anybody if
he doesn't want to.

And apparantly he chooses not to salute even a soldier receiving the
country's highest decoration. Some CIC!


Coward In Charge?




it is astounding that you militaristic bigots feel that receiving the
medal, along with a speech honoring his actions is insufficient, and
that a civilian must give a gratuitous and unnatural hand gesture to
appease YOUR misplaced sense of honor. The good sergeant can speak for
himself if he feels offended. I honor his actions. You are attempting
to impugn his honor and this country with trivialities. Perhaps you
have forgotten that at this time we are a country governed by civilians.
If you want a country where salutes are mandatory, there are countries
where the military is in charge - take your idiocy there and begone.

You were obviously never in the military. The hand salute is an
obligatory gesture when an enlisted man meets an officer, but it is
intended as a gesture of respect rather than obsequience. Military
courtesy requires the officer return the salute smartly and correctly.

Perhaps the President, while being CIC but having never served
himself, may have felt that he did not deserve or was not qualified
to render the hand salute to a heroic soldier.

Or perhaps, in his role as Commander In Chief, he regards himself as
above military courtesy to the soldiers under his command.

He does seem to know how to bow to foreign dignitaries.


You clearly don't give him the respect the office deserves by going
along with whatever way he chose to act as long as it was not way off
base. Not choosing to salute is not bad behavior by any means. Your
criticism shows where you are coming from. We call it anti American.

Hawke

You regard criticism of an elected official as anti-American while
claiming to be educated in political science?

The president's conduct clearly shows that he doesn't respect the
office but regards it as a posession and position of power won by
election and public mandate.

The office does indeed deserve respect, and the conduct of the person
in that office should exhibit such respect. The way he chose to
behave re SSG Guiunta is way off base for the CIC of our armed forces.

Noting his gaffes in no way disrespects the office. It does note the
behavior of the man in that office regardless of party. We do that
in a civil society. We didn't accept the egregiously disrespectful
transgressions of Clinton or Nixon. We should not pretend that the
emperor is fully clothed when he isn't.

A president and CIC choosing not to salute a soldier in his command,
medal winner or not, displays arrogant disrespect if not contempt.

This isn't about a vague "hope and change" political slogan or party
politics, it's about the arrogant, oafish and inappropriate behavior
in this instance of the man who is currently our elected civilian CIC
of our men and women in uniform, who deploys them into mortal combat
as CIC.

The buck stops on the desk in the oval office.