[army talk. Ladies, you have been warned.]
Two things have been stirring thoughts in me on this subject.
1. I am currently reading the English version of "Romance of 3 kingdoms". In those days, they *lead* troops at the head of the army. They embody the hearts and souls of the men. If he refuses to run, the men will take heart. If he charges, the men will rally. If he flees, the ranks will break. If he dies, the day is lost.
They were leaders.
2. During the filling of the sandbags, some of the men were upset that their immediate superior was not helping out. According to them, he had blocked their queries with, "You expect me to do?". We were taking a break when this feeling of discontent peaked. They started making their dissatisfaction known by raising their voices, rallying everyone to quit working. The sergeant became aware that he was targeted and tried to get us to resume. However, no one heeded him. I took a look around the group. Even the "pleasant" ones were not budging, waiting for someone to make a move. Finally, he gave up and started dragging off 2 sandbags. The group watched him. "Just 2 bags", our ringleader said. "Let's see if he carries on". The corporals started to join in.
That is our place. The corporals provide some semblance of order by deferring to the sergeants while the lance corporals give us our voice.
Would you trust you life with legends like Hannibal Barca(Carthage), Gaius Julius Caesar(Rome), Zhuge Liang(Han-Su) and Napoleon Bonaparte(France)? They who won battles with very little losses via their tactical brilliance.
Or would you rather serve under Horatio Nelson(Britain) and Richard D. Winters(USA) who braved bullets with their men? They who gambled the outcome with their lives.
During my active days, there was at least one time where the 3SGs had to do area cleaning for the men, while the men sleep in their bunk, because the men refuse to listen to the 3SGs. They had it coming with their arrogance. A lone wolf can do little damage, but a pack of wolves can take down any predator.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe pure rank-showing works in today's military anymore, at least not a modern one, and much less a reservist unit. That 3SG in question has only his own stupidity to blame for his humiliation.
Ya, though we CPLs are usually too timid and rules abiding
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