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The Iraqi army deserted Ramadi in the face of ISIS. The circumstances are unclear but given their recent track record it might not give you confidence to have Iraqi troops standing between you and barbarians. I hope most women, children and inoffensive men escaped unharmed. Realistically, many must have suffered or be suffering. There were not enough warriors to defend them.
When you’re a Western wimp and your wife and children are safely tucked up in bed, thugs, pillagers, rapists and killers are waiting their opportunity. Happily, warriors are on guard. In suburban areas police are the warriors; at the borders, soldiers; on the high seas, sailors; and in the air, pilots. We need these warriors. Death, degradation and enslavement wait for those silly enough to think they can do without them.
Warriors are not necessarily the nicest of guys in polite company. They sometimes get up to unsavoury things frowned on by society. In the past, in the army, this might have resulted in pack drill, spud-bashing or latrine duty. These days, in our increasingly effeminate culture, it may result in being drummed out of the service.
Another thing, if we need reminding, is that warriors are men, despite Hollywood’s recent infatuation with heroic female leads. In saying this, I acknowledge two things: One, there are exceptions. Two, women are equal with men before God (and men therefore have no right to think otherwise) but women are not the same as men and pretending that they are puts our survival at risk.
I want to contrast two events.
The first is the mass march of Russian troops commemorating seventy years since VE day. It was a potent and intimidatory display. There may have been some women in the march but I didn’t see them.
The second is retiring Chief of Army Lieutenant General David Morrison being interviewed by Leigh Sales (7.30 program) on May 11. My responses follow each of the transcript’s italicised excerpts.
“I think the nation would want its Defence Force reflective of its contemporary society…we’re still at just over 12 per cent of our Army workforce being female. That’s far too low. It makes lousy use of the talent on offer in 51 per cent of Australia’s population, women.”
The Army is not the place for affirmative action. Of course, women have a role to play but the army is not there to provide them with a career path. The sole and only reason taxpayers’ pay so much to have an army is to fight baddies who, in case anyone is under any misapprehension, will be men.
General Morrison also made this astounding statement:
“I don’t think that there’s a military solution to anything. I think that the use of military force is appropriate where a government decides that that is, you know, the tool of statecraft that they’ll use, but throughout recorded time, there’s been – there’s never been a military solution to anything.”
He obviously forgot about Waterloo; the Second World War; the American Civil War; about the Korean War which kept South Korea free; and about many other conflicts, ask the Israelis, where only war prevented annihilation or tyranny. If war is no solution, maybe women negotiators can be employed to bring ISIS to heel?
And this equally astounding statement in response Ms Sales reminding the General that he had described the Anzac legend as a double-edged sword:
“Well, I mean, it is one of the great iconic narratives, Anzac, but some of the stories we tell ourselves about Anzac: overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly male, overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon — if those stories are given an undue emphasis, then how do you attract into today’s ranks men and women who aren’t male, who aren’t Anglo-Saxon, who aren’t rough-hewn country lads…”
I wonder what military campaigns we can hold up as inspirational these days? Presumably, potential recruits will be inspired only if we find a battle where men, women, Aboriginals, the ethnicity of recent arrivals, gays, lesbians and mixed genders were appropriately represented in the front line. It is beyond hooey; nothing more can be said.
Debilitating political correctness is overwhelming common sense. It is bad enough when it invades business life; it is worse when it invades schools and universities; it is absolutely self-destructive when it invades the armed forces.
The enemy will always be male. They will not have one iota of political correctness in their makeup. Women are at most risk. Warrior men are needed to keep them safe; and always will be.
Peter you are always at your best when your Christian perspective is forefront, as I think it is here.
General Morrison should read his Churchill, who wrote that victory in the Great War was turned around by subsequently poor statecraft. In other words the extraordinary military victory itself achieved great purpose, but it was General Morrison’s vaunted ‘statecraft’ which failed utterly, thus requiring further military resolution.
I wonder if our kids are learning about Villers Brettenoux in school? Probably not, why would you learn about one of the great military victories of all time, committed by your own countrymen? Anyway it gets my vote for an inspirational campaign.
I wish I’d have mentioned Villers-Brettenoux. It is perfect in context. Peter
That interview, Peter, was bizarre, to say the least, and cause for serious concern. General Morrison was obviously still riding the wave of righteousness he generated when speaking out and acting against sexual abuse in the armed forces. He obviously revelled in the approbation he rightly deserved for that and made the most of an opportunity to elicit more of the same, irrespective of the fact that this time his attitude was way off the mark. Naturally, he was enthusiastically endorsed by the usual suspects.
It beggers credibility to listen to a man of Morrison’s standing and experience advocating views concerning our armed forces which completely ignore the effectiveness of those forces while paying homage to leftist political correctness. One wonders what lucrative position he is angling for in his “retirement”.
Bill Martin.
My thought too Bill. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him standing as a Labor/Green judging by his remarks; a UN post may suit too; the Australian Defence Force Academy; Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney Uni; any uni – all would suit. He would fit right in. Peter
Peter,
You are so right, but in times of peace we must strive to make the business of war more caring-sharing and inclusive. We must also rewrite history to denigrate the fine MEN and Women of previous generations for not understanding today’s fashionable armchair views.
In the Townsville Bulletin former Army Officer, Ross Eastgate commented on our politically ‘correct’ non-warrior General (http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/opinion/no-template-for-diverse-talents/story-fnjfzqwh-1227354516890) by asking: “WHAT cave has erstwhile army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison been living in for the past 36 years?
The ADF has been for the entire period a volunteer force where people applied to join because they sought challenges and rewards, not how they identified with gender or other determinants.
Not enough ethnic, religious or sexual diversity according to Morrison – what have any of those characteristics got to do with individual or collective capability?”
Well being a leader in the Army officer is all about gaining the trust of those under your command. So try this pop-quiz:
List the order of those you would you most likely want to lead you into battle against a lethal enemy trying to kill you and your mates? Choose the sequence carefully as your life may depend on your choice.
1. General Morrison – a liberal with fashionable left-wing views on LGBT, multiculturalism, that fighting never solved anything and the need to save the environment.
2. Captain Reg Saunders – Australia’s first Aboriginal officer with frontline experience in WW2 and Korea and who was never more at home than in uniform
3. WO1 Jimmy Geedrick, Yeppoon-born of Ceylonese ancestry, enlisted in the AIF in March 1943 to escape the poverty and prejudice of his local community and retired wearing every campaign and service ribbon from the southwest Pacific campaigns to Vietnam.
4. Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, MG – A giant of a man who got up and almost suicidally charged at the people trying to kill him. One jumped on him, but he was shaken off and killed. Corporal Ben then moved forward towards a machine gun crew firing 600 rounds a minute at him and got close enough to kill them all. He then charged a second MG crew and killed them too.
Morrison has passed into history and it is best we forget his contribution as soon as possible.
That deplorable interview proved that Morrison is a product of, and an enthusiast for, the soft-left, passivist, politically correct teachings of the Australian Defence College. Just look at the list of people who teach history there and you understand Morrison’s tough shell-jelly guts outlook.
I think we’re being a little unfair to General Morrison. From where is he supposed to have received accurate information about sex differences in combat behaviour? In 2011 I surveyed over 20 departments of social science – sociology, politics, and anthropology – at leading universities and not one included behavioral biology in their curricula. Last night I watched the top political science graduates at Sydney University for 2014 summarise their theses. They were all very bright young people, but devoid of knowledge about the disciplines dealing with human nature. This is a self-reinforcing process, in which our loss of the culture wars since the 1960s is consolidated. The mainstream media offers little if any alternative, because journalists are also university graduates. From where is Morrison (or cabinet ministers) meant to receive realistic advice?
fssalter@aol.com – 27th May 2015:
I am a little late answering your question – today being the 19th May 2019 although I must admit the most obvious answer broke through my frontal lobe and dropped on the counter in front of me in a millisecond – maybe less.
A millisecond might be about the time an ADF standard 5.56mm round takes to travel from an in sight enemy to your gut wall – but that information is of little use to SJW Morrison who has never met an angry man in uniform or otherwise.
Yet rose to the highest of levels in the ADF.
Whilst the Nation slept this fool was in charge of the Nation’s safety, welfare and the career advancement of Australia’s answer to Chelsea Manning.
So anyway GUYS – the answer could be buried in enpassant’s contribution above.
Hold your bloody nose as you hasten past the dill mentioned in Item 1 …..
Focus on the individuals in Items 2, 3, 4 and tick either/and/or.
Type up their ideals, aspirations, beliefs and MO.
Get it to a publisher , make up to a spiral bound manual and deliver it to the Defence Academy.
You will have to take several – ok, a lot – of the current lecturers behind the latrines and beat them to a pulp but…
You know the drill.
There are no guarantees in life – but there are some eh?