I'm a huge Tom Kratman fan and I eagerly read his articles and books.
Recently read this one; http://www.everyjoe.com/2016/06/27/politics/great-enlisted-men-ferocity/#1 Awesome series of articles, btw.
Here is the relevant snippet;
“Platoon Sergeant, what has Richt been up to? I haven’t seen him since ___day.”
“Didn’t I tell you, sir?”
“No, you didn’t tell me. Tell me what?”
“He’s in the hospital.”
“WHAT!?!?!”
“Jeez, I’m sorry, sir; I could have sworn I told you; yesterday morning, I thought. Hmm…maybe not. I was…no excuse, sir. It happened two days ago. I…”
“Can it; we’ll talk about that later. You won’t like it. How is he and what happened?”
“He’s cut up pretty badly, but he’s going to make a full recovery.”
“Because….”
“Six Panamanians with knives jumped him around Chorrillo.” (Chorrillo was/is a bad neighborhood in Panama City, Panama.)
“And?”
“Four of the Panamanians are dead; he killed them with his bare hands.”
“Of course he did. And?”
“The other two will be quadriplegics for the rest of their lives.”
“Any charges pressed from the Panamanian side?”
“No, I think the local police were happy to see the last of those six.”
“Have you seen him yet?”
“No, sir; I was going to go this morning.”
“Oh, good; we can go together and have our little chat.”
(The chat wasn’t really that bad. He knew he’d screwed up but I knew it was more a function of the kind of unit and the circumstances. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t happen, nor anything like it, again.)
Those were not the only Panamanians Richt killed with his bare hands over the year or so he worked for me. I think the total was seven dead and five paralyzed in three distinct incidents, including that one. That was, however, the only time he actually got a mark on him, and that time only because of the odds. A mere two or three or four he could dispense with without breaking a sweat, let alone shedding his own blood.
Martial artist? Black belt, Tae-Ju-Ken-Koto-Fu, infinite dan? None of those things. He was just strong, quick, fearless, and, if attacked, utterly ferocious.
Now who would like to face an army of those?
Now, now; obviously it's not the Sergeant forgetting to pass on that troop was in the hospital which I am interested in here. You don't have to do much time as a JNCO to have absolutely no illusions about just how important info like that is to the CoC.
It's obviously that this guy killed a couple people and faced zero repercussions. I am a self defence advocate in my other life and have zero problems with this, personally. But I cannot imagine any version of the CF which would allow this; regardless of circumstances a soldier killing or even seriously injuring civilians of a 3rd-party nations would, based on my perception of the CF I have come to know, result inevitably in serious repercussions. The CoC just shrugging it off would be unthinkable.
But what do you more learned folks think?
Recently read this one; http://www.everyjoe.com/2016/06/27/politics/great-enlisted-men-ferocity/#1 Awesome series of articles, btw.
Here is the relevant snippet;
“Platoon Sergeant, what has Richt been up to? I haven’t seen him since ___day.”
“Didn’t I tell you, sir?”
“No, you didn’t tell me. Tell me what?”
“He’s in the hospital.”
“WHAT!?!?!”
“Jeez, I’m sorry, sir; I could have sworn I told you; yesterday morning, I thought. Hmm…maybe not. I was…no excuse, sir. It happened two days ago. I…”
“Can it; we’ll talk about that later. You won’t like it. How is he and what happened?”
“He’s cut up pretty badly, but he’s going to make a full recovery.”
“Because….”
“Six Panamanians with knives jumped him around Chorrillo.” (Chorrillo was/is a bad neighborhood in Panama City, Panama.)
“And?”
“Four of the Panamanians are dead; he killed them with his bare hands.”
“Of course he did. And?”
“The other two will be quadriplegics for the rest of their lives.”
“Any charges pressed from the Panamanian side?”
“No, I think the local police were happy to see the last of those six.”
“Have you seen him yet?”
“No, sir; I was going to go this morning.”
“Oh, good; we can go together and have our little chat.”
(The chat wasn’t really that bad. He knew he’d screwed up but I knew it was more a function of the kind of unit and the circumstances. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t happen, nor anything like it, again.)
Those were not the only Panamanians Richt killed with his bare hands over the year or so he worked for me. I think the total was seven dead and five paralyzed in three distinct incidents, including that one. That was, however, the only time he actually got a mark on him, and that time only because of the odds. A mere two or three or four he could dispense with without breaking a sweat, let alone shedding his own blood.
Martial artist? Black belt, Tae-Ju-Ken-Koto-Fu, infinite dan? None of those things. He was just strong, quick, fearless, and, if attacked, utterly ferocious.
Now who would like to face an army of those?
Now, now; obviously it's not the Sergeant forgetting to pass on that troop was in the hospital which I am interested in here. You don't have to do much time as a JNCO to have absolutely no illusions about just how important info like that is to the CoC.
It's obviously that this guy killed a couple people and faced zero repercussions. I am a self defence advocate in my other life and have zero problems with this, personally. But I cannot imagine any version of the CF which would allow this; regardless of circumstances a soldier killing or even seriously injuring civilians of a 3rd-party nations would, based on my perception of the CF I have come to know, result inevitably in serious repercussions. The CoC just shrugging it off would be unthinkable.
But what do you more learned folks think?
