On reflection I am glad I didn’t serve in the ADF.  I was in the AMF and a happy man in a man’s world with any number of men and  woman supporting us line-regiment blokes. Under the current ALP distraction the Army Chief seems to be playing a role supporting the feminist agenda of Julia Gillard. General Morrison has becomes a pinup of Destroy the Joint, a FB page for seemingly very angry women who clearly do not like men. He wins praise from a bunch of women when he commands an Army made up mostly of men. From The Australian

But Lieutenant-General David Morrison has also won praise from feminist groups for campaigning for the Australian Defence Force to treat women with respect.

The praise across social media for the father-of-three included observations that he should be deployed to train the nation’s politicians on leadership and gender issues before the federal election.

I actually think that last statement is a bad reference for a man commanding an infantry based Army. The Army don’t treat women with disrespect.   Sometimes individual soldiers do cross the line driven by alcohol and testosterone but,  I would suggest,  a whole lot less than in the rest of the community. The Army is about Infantry.  They couldn’t operate without all the other Arms and Services but these others are there to support us in what we do.

The role of Infantry is to seek out and close with the enemy, to kill or capture him, to seize and hold ground and to repel attack, by day or night, regardless of season, weather or terrain.

Nothing more, nothing less.  No manouvre room for feminists there. The role does not include the rider “whilst observing politically correct interpretations as seen by armchair warriors”.  There is no mention of celibacy nor behaving like a paragon of virtue when on leave.  Soldiers, warriors, by the nature of their testosterone driven employment are not, as a rule, the most gentle and introverted members of society.  I read often enough that the Army is supposed to be representative of  the culture of the country.  Not really.  We wouldn’t want a bunch of hippies, Greenies, human rights activists, artists, gentle souls, whistle blowers, ideological warriors or beaurocrats serving in the platoons of a battalion. Nothing would ever get done.  We need to weed out a good part of the society from whence we choose soldiers to make sure we end up with soldiers prepared to fight so that the rest of society can exist happily in their little worlds. The men we end up with are men writ large. Which is why, over my long career in the military, I didn’t demand my troops be angels. I did demand toughness – both physical and mental, a high level of skills and a comittment to the country expressed at it’s prime level – comittment to the unit. Where am I going with this?  Well I think the General is being a bit harsh on his troops.  Three guys out of about 50,000 have transgressed.  The were on leave drinking and having sex – so far so good.  They then filmed the deeds and transmitted them, apparently through defence means.  If the are guilty of the last two acts then charge them, front them to a court and if the court so decides then dismiss them.   If the women involved didn’t know about the transmission then the charges against the perps should reflect that.  I read no mention that the sex wasn’t consensual and as the accusations are months old I’m inclined to say charge them all with an offence or shut up. That’s it. The General has said told the Army that anyone not willing to work with women and accept them as equals, then “There is no place for you amongst this band of brothers and sisters. There is certainly no place for them among these brothers sisters umm….soldiers;

His frontal attack on discrimination also includes help for enlisted men who become enlisted women.

Soldiers who switch gender are being helped stay in the Army under Lieutenant General David Morrison’s campaign to rout all forms of discrimination in the military.

There currently are 10 Army members who have transferred gender while still in uniform, and have received the support of their most senior officer, General Morrison.

Two of them are women who now live as men, and eight are men who now identify as women.

Shudder.  So the Army is now a social experiment.  Dwarfs, hermaphrodites, Drag Queens….roll up, we’ll take you all! The case has morphed from soldiers on leave having consensual sex and filming it then distributing the film, which may or may not be consensual, to the Army being accused of not accepting women as equals.  There are only a few soldiers stood down and has the case has been around since at least April then the rest of the media’s so called ‘hundreds’ are most probably recipients of emails or have viewed the clips. I understand these types of transgressions are happening daily among all walks of  life but few if any get such media space.  I have no issues with soldiers, or officers (and I wish the media would learn the difference) drinking on leave, fornicating, or indeed filming the deed and I have no problems with putting the deed up on the internet if that is what floats your boat,  providing both parties are in agreement.  I wouldn’t film and transmit myself but I’ve long known forcing your own moral standards on others simply doesn’t work. If it ain’t illegal its legal. If it is illegal then charge them and get on with it  and don’t try and feminise the Army while you’re doing it. It is apparent to me that Defence Minister Smith has a bunch of these type of revelations and I expect him to drip feed them as a distraction from the ALP’s disasters over the next ninety days and I can’t help but think that Chief of Army is  helping him to do it. In my time I was taught  by my combat experienced superiors, to never, ever abuse soldiers in front of their peers nor NCOs in front of the soldiers.  Always take them aside. General Morrison has publicly abused everyone in the Army from Major General down with his ‘feminise or get out message’   The entire world bloody knows.  It is an in-house matter and the international dissemination of the General’s spray to the troops has brought the Australian Army into disrepute.  A situation occasioned by it’s commander, no less! Poor form in my opinion.