[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Platapus

We will have to agree to disagree on this.

As will you and I, I'm sure.

I honour the members of our military doing their duty to carry out our nation's policy as determined by our civilian command.

Duty without discretion is nothing but another way of saying that blind obedience is good, which it never is.

It is not up to the military person to be concerned with whether this or that war is good or bad. Our duty is to carry out our legal orders to the best of our ability.

I do not agree at all. To me, that is simply deference of responsibility and lazy thinking. Servicemembers have an obligation to take responsibility for the power they wield and exercise flawless personal judgement. That is what seperates soldiers from kids with guns, and it is why I often argue that the US military must be at least partially privatized and reformed into an institution that doesn't simply draw recruits from the dregs of society and brainwash them into drones capable of following orders. Real soldiers must be drawn from the ranks of society that lend themselves towards being real soldiers, whtether out of a sense of honor or self-interst.

Some may think that is just shirking responsibility and you may be one of them. Others, and that would include me, think it is part of the commitment to our country.

Again, commitment means nothing when it is exercised blindly. Any fool can be persuaded to commit to something, given the proper impetus. It takes a true soldier to stand up for what is right and just, even in the face of orders.

During my 20 years in the military, I was involved in "situations" that I strongly did not approve of. If they were released to the public, perhaps you too would not approve of them. However, it was my duty (legal and moral) to put aside my personal viewpoints and implement my nation's policy.

If the public of a nation does not approve of something, there is a good chance that it isn't right to begin with. There is no morality in accepting a policy simply because it is a policy.

That is what is meant by being a Military Professional -- putting your country first, even if you disagree with the policy.

Negative. Being a military professional means being a professional in a military situation. It means being a professional warfighter and nothing else. It means not compromising your ideals for the sake of anything, even your personal safety or repute.

To be a good soldier is to be a truly selfless individual, not for the sake of God or country, but for the sake of selflessness and the mission, no matter the cost. It is putting the needs of the weak ahead of everything, even if it results in your death.

Real soldiers, including real professionals, like mercenaries, will accept this burden. Whether they perform out of sense of honor or for personal gain or both is unimportant.

Today, I honoured all the Military Professionals, past and present, who also put their personal viewpoints behind them and carry out the mission.

I sure as hell didn't.

I'm not about to honor some fool who joined with aspirations of a free college education that just happened to get blown to pieces while he was cowering behind the armored plates of a MAC-Armor HMMWV. Nor am I about to honor children led by idiots who think a foot patrol in a known IED-threat-area in broad daylight. These people are your soldiers, Platapus.

Why? Simply because that is what we do in the military.

Simply because that is what we do in kindergarten? Simply because we do what we are told? Simply because we automatically assume that someone in charge knows what is best and directs us towards that end? I've had my fill of seeing what a handful of kids with guns can do to civlians when theyt are justified by national interest.

I don't mean to insult or belittle you, Platapus, despite the tone of my post. I only mean to call to your attention the nature of military service in the world, past and present, and your attitude towards it. There is no honor in blind obedience. Obedience alone is no basis for honor. More than enough atrocities have been committed by obedient soldiers.