Anyone here actually been in the military?
*raises hand*
The difference between being on the inside and being a civilian is immense. The Army, Air Force, or Navy becomes the core of your life and everyone outside are merely 'civvies' Now I know they are there to be protected, but the main person you had to look after first was yourself, then the people around you, and finally everyone else.
It may seem odd, but some of the exercises we did involved locking down the base and preventing civilian incursion. It was thought that because we had bomb shelters, NBC suits, clean food and water, that people on the outside would break in if there was any kind of war, but especially a nuclear attack. So some of us would play civilians and try and create a riot at the main gate, while others were guards trying to stop them getting in. Now, these things are played out for real, with blank ammo etc. and the first thing you realise is that, if you are ordered to shoot someone, you WILL DO IT....
The matter of responsibility lies with the superior officer on the scene. Of course there are rules which he has to obey, but they can be 'interpreted' if need be. For instance the rules of 'Minimum Force' and 'Warning before opening fire' can be completely ignored if an 'Immediate Threat' is there. So.... we do need a military, but we must also be aware that they will protect their own first before looking out for everyone else. This is one reason why Iraq will drag on and on, because in the eyes of the average grunt on the ground, there are only two groups there - his buddies, and everyone else - who are ALL potential targets. I can understand how they do it, but not how they keep doing it day after day, knowing the it might be thier turn next...
Brave? Yes, I think so...
Edit: Yep, Eviscerator stick some views in here....
Edit 2: Damn! so many posts while I was typing this!
