Air Force Removed General Over Drunken Acts in Russia

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

...and the USAF crucified him because it's obsessive compulsive about its public image.

That has always been and always will be one of the problems with the military. If they stick strictly to the rules civilians will always accuse them of being hidebound and stuck in their ways. If they don't stick strictly to the rules they end up having underlings who follow that example, and without good order and discipline you can't have a properly functioning military. As with any political organization the pendulum swings from time to time, though not as far as the civilian government.

Certain standards have to be maintained, though how far to go is always the problem. If he follows regulations to the letter he may lose connections with the people he is there to get along with in the first place. It has been said that a good officer is one who knows when to disobey orders. If he doesn't follow regulations to the letter he runs the risk of losing the confidence of his superiors, as in this case. We can argue right from wrong, but where the military is concerned they have their own way of doing things, and that way includes everyone involved.

In boot camp we were told "There's the Right Way, the Wrong Way and the Navy Way!"

Once aboard ship our Chief Radioman said "There's the Right Way, the Wrong Way, the Navy Way and MY WAY!" We soon learned that we did it his way. He was The Chief, and he alone was answerable to his superiors, so his orders were our law, period.