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From: tiwasawa@netxdev.DHL.COM (Takashi Iwasawa)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Trials?
Message-ID: <13928@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 13 Feb 90 03:19:31 GMT
References: <13548@cbnews.ATT.COM> <13892@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: tiwasawa@netxdev.DHL.COM (Takashi Iwasawa)

In article <13892@cbnews.ATT.COM> ron@hpfcso.hp.com (Ron Miller) writes:
>
>Just for reference, [my commanding officer's] other favorite phrase was,
>"How can you be so stupid?"  (How do you answer that one?)
>
How about, "I try to follow your example, Sir!" :-)

On a more serious note (must remember this is sci.military!), I agree with
Mike Schmitt that the incident in Viet Nam was mishandled by the command.
The company commander should have taken the new 2nd lieutenant aside BEFORE
sending him to the platoon and told him, "Look, your sergeants have combat
experience, you don't.  Listen to them if you want to have a chance to
finish your tour in one piece."  If the platoon commander (the new 2nd
lieutenant) still got into the position of giving a foolish order which was
refused by his platoon sergeant, the company commander should have gotten
there before the media, found out what the real situation was, and if
necessary, ORDERED the platoon to take another route (instead of the road
which probably had a VC ambush rigged).  This takes the platoon commander
off the hook, since he is now following orders from HIS superior.  If the
platoon commander is REALLY stupid and insists that the company commander
back him in enforcing his unnecesarily dangerous order, the company commander
should order the platoon to go down the road (discipline's got to be
preserved), BUT the company commander should also tell the platoon leader
in the presence of the platoon, "You are the commander of this platoon.
You will LEAD from the FRONT!  Get moving down that road!"  At this point,
failure to obey on the part of the platoon OR the platoon leader should
be met with court martial and a stiff sentence.

Net Express is not responsible for my opinions expressed above.

Takashi Iwasawa (I was a lowly E4 in 1970, fortunately not in Nam)