Reply #43: Been in combat

[nadinbrzezinski]

and bad leadership leads to bad behaviour from troops, regardless of what country

Our troops are not being led well as Abu Ghraib proved

War crimes are not always as obvious as that infernal prison either

I will tell you why my people always behaved well, I chose to lead by a very strict code when it came to the Conventions. When I DISOBEYED an ilegal order, I got backing from National HQ... and when I had to crawl to remove casualties, I knew that them bullets woudl not just turn to the side because my uniform had a Red Cross or two on it...

That is not the way it works

War is hell and if the Lts, and Captains don't keep discipline worst things will happen with those troops

if the majors and the colonels do not keep their JOs on a leash, good order and discipline will break down, and if the civilian leadership believes all these rules are trite, guess what? the troops will behave in the worst way because they can get away with it.

This is the theory of command, and it seems many are wiling to forget it

by the way, responsibilty belongs to the troop who obeyed an ilegal order, but it belongs even more to the officer who ordered it.