Saturday, January 16, 2010



Military language under attack in Britain

We read:
"Eyes bulging with fury, cheeks purple and moustache bristling, the sergeant major draws himself to his full height and yells: 'You 'orrible little man!' This is the memory for generations of cowering recruits who have incurred the displeasure of the dreaded tyrant.

To the dismay of traditional disciplinarians, however, such scenes are being consigned to history. Commanders have decided that, in a changing society, a gentler approach is required. Young soldiers, they say, should be coaxed, reasoned with, and allowed to think for themselves.

Rather than simply shouting and screaming orders, military instructors are encouraged to 'be progressive' and discuss tasks with recruits. But veterans raised concerns that the new touchy-feely approach could lead to a lack of discipline.

Ex-recruiting sergeant Fred Burden, vice-chairman of the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans' Association UK, said: 'The Army is getting too soft on recruits. 'The British Army has been the finest in the world for years, so what is the point of changing now? If you don't shout orders at recruits there's a risk they won't concentrate.'

Source

If the men can't stand someone shouting at them, how are they going to face the enemy??

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is great. Now when someone yells duck or gernade they can have a discussion on the matter. Discpline is about being able to instantly obey orders.

Bobby said...

What happened to "break them down to build them up?" That's the Marine philosophy and most armies do something similar.

Anonymous said...

"The British Army has been the finest in the world for years."

LOL! Right! The Sgt. is apparently living in another time, although i can't think of which time that might be.

As for the rest of the topic, this simply seems like the on-going plan to "PCize" the worlds military forces. But it's only being done to forces from Western nations. No one else is dumb enough to pay attention to this nonsense.

Using the US military as an example, this "politically-motivated change" started after WWII. In Korea and Viet Nam, US forces were told (unofficially of course) to go to war, but try not to fight, and whatever you do, don't hurt anyone. That very same mentality is now in place in the Middle East and our war with terrorism. It is in fact, one of the main reasons "we will not win" there!

Imagine sending brave young warriors into battle with "a set of rules to fight by", against a very devoted enemy who has a 4th century mentality of kill, kill, kill! When two teams are put on the field, and only one is made to play by the rules, the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

Wes said...

As a former enlisted man in the US Army, I have to say this is utterly rediculous. I don't like being yelled at any more than the next guy, but in the midst of a battle you have to respond to orders instantly or you and your buddies may be history. Strict discipline is absolutely mandatory. This is more touchy-feely political correctness at work to protect someone's delicate feelings the end result will be someone's death.

Anonymous said...

Don't stop there, abolish rank too.

Anonymous said...

Some people feel there's a difference between shouting orders at soldiers, which is perfectly normal and expected, and demeaning, insulting, and/or degrading them, something some military officers, especially British officers, have been doing for hundreds of years. There's certainly no question that there needs to be discipline in the ranks. But where does discipline stop and abuse start.

The Finn said...

--
"The British Army has been the finest in the world for years."

LOL! Right! The Sgt. is apparently living in another time, although i can't think of which time that might be.
--

Let me guess - an American?

Stan B said...

Insubordination in the military cannot be tolerated - and one of the hallmarks of that is the Drill Sergeant instilling within the mind of the raw recruit the knowledge of exactly where he stands within the rank structure. Any recruit who speaks up and says "I'm NOT a horrid little man" is insubordinate. If he gets into the habit early of accepting that he is not in charge, he will be a better soldier - following his superiors orders when he does not understand or agree with them.

In the heat of battle, there is no time to open the floor for debate about whether a particular order is correct. Lengthy explanations lead to death. Soldiers who think they have better ideas are as likely to get their entire squads killed as come up with anything useful.

If boot camp doesn't "break them down," the enemy will be more than happy to do it - and the politicians will stand around wondering why they're "progressive" army always seems to lose.....