Which is exactly why I said that we need to make a few timely examples of military commanders who think more of their own....er....careers than the lives of the troops in their command. Surely the world could stand a few more over-qualified plumbers.K.Mooneyham wrote: I feel they believe that the off chance of one of their troops being killed by a terrorist is much smaller than the risk to their career if a "safety incident" happens.
There might have been anecdotal evidence of unit commanders being worried about draftees shooting others in Vietnam. By and large though, in country, unit commanders were much more likely worried at the prospect of having a frag grenade tossed on their bed at night. In 1970 alone the Army reported 209 such incidents. The Marines claimed very few incidents, but everyone knew they happened.
It was pretty common "scuttlebutt" that being an officer who cared more about impressing the brass than caring about the troops under your command might earn you a "late evening pineapple dinner." It was evidence of the sorry state of affairs in America. Of course, the enemy had a more effective way of dealing with bad commanders, if less fair.
