French block airlift of British troops to Basra

Fred J. McCall wrote in message . ..
(Kevin Brooks) wrote:

:That would appear to be a restatement of an old maxim. True enough
:that troops the world over do grumble; my mistake for using the word
:"unique", as opposed to maybe "typical of". ISTR it was one of your
fficers who was somewhat amazed that US troops tended to have to be
:told the "why" of their orders, as opposed to the quaint "yes, sir,
:three bags full, sir" type of response to which he was accustomed...

US troops are trained to expect and get explanations of what they're
doing and why. It's the only way they can intelligently fulfill their
orders and know when initiative in the field is and is not
appropriate.

"Are trained"? No, Fred, this tendancy was established long before the
more recent concentration on "auftragstactik" (or however the hell it
is spelled in the original German). Comments on this date back to at
least the First World War, and it was more a result of the US practice
of depending upon citizen soldiers, along with the rather independent
streak to be found in Americans who deplored the idea of being placed
below anyone on a social, or for that matter military, ladder. ISTR
reading that it is a trait shared with Aussie troops who frequently
displayed it to their British superiors.

Brooks