"John Gaquin" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
newsHxNb.946


Of course it's not a written policy. But, it's a major source of fodder
for
comedians, movie makers and quite a few former soldiers who know that
the
military mentality is often centered around nonsensical layers of red
tape
and inefficiency.

The "...military mentality...". Exactly what is that? An example of
exactly the kind of bias that some people find oh, so clever and
sophisticated, but aggravates the bejesus out of me. You will find as
much
or probably more rigidity and tunnel-vision in *any* large bureaucracy
[such
as the Dept. of the Interior, or Dept. HHS, for example] without nearly
the
corresponding skill and benefit to our society as a whole. And yet,
people
still love to toss out the derogatory lines about the military. Sad,
really.



The "mentality" would sound like fiction if I hadn't been hearing about it
from my father since I was old enough to understand it. He spent 8 years in
the Navy beginning in 1941, flying a Grumman TBF Avenger (torpedo bomber).
He and his cohorts used to get flak for using too much small ammo. The
pilots' theory was that a little cannon fire caused Japanese ship side
gunners to get rattled, which bought the TBF Avengers the 30 seconds they
needed to get down nice and low and line up their gifts. The people who kept
track of the ammo didn't understand what it meant to be in warrior mode.

If the "mentality" exists in other government organizations, it's somewhat
less meaningful because it doesn't involve human lives. There's always a
place for people who are only comfortable in church committes, where the
blame for mistakes is diffused. But, it has no place in the military.