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Originally Posted by willravel
I think a lot of soldiers are scared and confused, and I think that a lot of the bullshit rhetoric that comes out of the white house is accepted as gospel by the troops because they want to believe that what they are doing isn't a waste. That's what we professionals call denial.
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It doesn't matter if they're scared, or confused, or in denial, or against the policy - none of that matters, the military isn't a democracy. When the commander gives an order, the soldier obeys without hesitation, or he/she is immediately discharged, court-martialed or otherwise removed from his post. Insubordination is insubordination in any walk of professional life, and magnified tenfold in the military - any military - for reasons of practicality and ultimately, survival. And again, the US military is a volunteer army.
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Support our troops doesn't mean our troops are always right.
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Now were getting to the heart of the matter. If one is ready to acknowledge that a military force is an extension of government policy, than how are the two to be separated, ideologically speaking? Can one blame the troops for anything they do, when they are only following orders? If one disapproves with a government's decision to use military force, can one approve of those individuals directly responsible for implementing the government decision? I'm questioning the consistency of maintaining separate ideological positions relative to a central government and the military branch of that government.