French block airlift of British troops to Basra

(Kevin Brooks) wrote:

: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,

"Are trained". Yes, Brooks,

: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
f 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.

Well, things have changed here in the last century (and not
necessarily always for the better). A lot of effort has been spent
teaching people NOT to think over the last half-century or so, more's
the pity....

--
"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar
territory."
--G. Behn