Defence in trouble again
The ADFA Skype scandal has been good for the ALP. Every time they feel they being treated shabbily by the media they release yet another report into us awful, politically incorrect military types in an attempt to divert attention away from their stuffups. The latest is basically a litany of offences against the Emily List ‘feminize the military’ ideals.
Former senior military investigator Andrew Johnston told The Australian that the Skype scandal, if proven to have taken place, would represent just “the tip of the iceberg”, and the practice went back to the 1990s, when recordings were made using video cameras hidden in shoeboxesAndrew Johnston was a Warrant Officer Class 1 in the ADF Investigation Service and his comment is conjecture and quoted because it suits the authors intention of making it appear the ADF has a real problem. It also sits well with those who want to feminize a warrior society.
The commission found evidence of a small number of women, potentially in single figures, who had been filmed in this way, but that as many as one in four servicewomen had suffered other sexual abuse or harassment within the past five years.Oh my God! As many as ten woman out of a strength of 80,000 have been filmed ‘in this way’in the ADF! But, and it’s a big BUT, as many as one in four have been sexually abused or harassed. I have no time for rape,’groping’ or verbal abuse but I sometimes think that some of these figures represent ‘unwelcomed’ approaches, as in asking for a date more than once and being slow to work out it aint going to happen; swearing in the presence of women; or having a nude pinup in your locker. Very few groups within the community have such a preponderance of young, fit people at their physical sexual peak as does the military and doing what comes natural is…natural. I would like to see the Human Rights Commission’s definitions of what constitutes abuse or harassment before I start worrying about the ADF’s sexual problems. I am, for example, more worried about the ALP’s cutting defence expenditure to such an extent that regiments can no longer train their officers and soldiers to be battle ready. And yes, the ALP statement that line regiments would not be impacted on is like all of the ALP’s defence attitudes – bullshit!
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Following is the second email (both unanswered) I sent to our Sex Discrimination Commissioner in March 2012. I think it remains appropriate, considering the accelerating feminisation of the ADF, and the accompanying management of the Force by weasel words.
Dear Commissioner Broderick,
Although it seems writing to you achieves little, I will persevere as perhaps, one day, you will reply. In an earlier email I wrote this in regard to your involvement with ADFA:
I believe I could write your report. Here are some of the words I would use: caring, sharing, diversity, empowerment, acceptance, nurturing, equality, discrimination, inappropriate, understanding, acceptance,
education, sensitivity, empathy and tolerance.
I read your report and was much impressed with my forecast. Not all the words I thought would be included made the cut, but quite a few did. Here is the word count from your report:
Diversity 199
Acceptance 5
Equality 82
Discrimination 118
Inappropriate 45
Understanding 23
Education 87
Sensitive/sensitivity 17
Tolerance/tolerate 10
In my email I also put to you a situation based on the capture of some RN personnel by the Iranians. I also asked for your opinion on what action the single female and the male captives ought to have taken based on several scenarios I presented. [In one I asked how the male sailors should have responded if the female sailor had been threatened with gang rape if a confession were not forthcoming].
I gather you had no opinion on the matter or, found it too difficult to form one, as you did not answer.
Now the Costa Concordia has capsized and there has been much comment about the poor behaviour of many of the men who pushed their way onto the lifeboats. Who would be surprised?
Last year my wife and I were on a river cruise vessel in Europe and during the trip I held, as I always do, a door open for a woman. She replied firmly and without humour: “Don’t gender me”.
So now I’m left wondering if the younger men on the Costa Concordia, berated for years by organisations such as yours, were justified in ignoring gender and/or age. I ask for your position on this because logically, I cannot see you could support a survival policy based on women and children first. To do so would be discriminatory would it not, in that it would preference people by sex and age?
I look forward to your reply. In it, I hope you might comment on the suggestion that the policies of our myriad “social justice” organisations may have unpleasant unintended consequences.
I must admit that, on seeing this report recommending spots at the top for females, I thought to myself that I’ve always felt that there is no more inspiring combat leader than one who was fast tracked from a background in logistics, human services and health.
/sarc
I agree Harry.
We need more human services managers at the front, biro in hand…
That’ll show the damned enemy we mean business.
Surrender or be initialled in triplicate…
You would thing they’d have a look at a working model of a Force where gender targeted recruiting has had a negative influence on morale and operational efficiency. Christine Nixon’s policies had a huge negative effect on the Victoria Police. Many male applicants had to wait on the quota being filled before being considered. I know some who had to wait a couple of years. The sudden influx of females meant that operational duties, div vans and heavy work carried by two women together often meant they had to wait for males to arrive to do the work, and then nobody raises the issue for fear of being targeted as gender biased, which in the long term effects selection for propmotion or even selection for specific jobs. I wouldn’t want to be a soldier when this happens, or a male applicant seeking a pathway in the Army. It should always come down to selection of the best applicant for the role.
They could have worse troubles and issues, me and my charge sheet might still be working for them.
Funny how this hits the deck this week.
I can think of one escapee thru a glass ceiling that was over promoted.
I enjoyed working under women in my younger days, I was a toy boy. lol.