SFCRetired
Regular Member
Having served with, and supervised, many young soldiers during my career, I will state unequivocally that there are very few, unless things have really changed drastically in the twenty-two years since I retired, young soldiers that I would not trust with a personal weapon.
Those few that I would not trust were also those that good NCOs were working to put out of the service. And there lies the heart of the problem: During, and after, Vietnam, the officer corps preempted the role and authority of the non-commissioned officer corps. I know that applies in the Army, but I am not at all sure about the Marines, Navy, or Air Force as I have no recent experience with them.
Added to the above is the fact that certain politicians regard the military as the ideal laboratory for social experimentation. An example of this is Dear Leader's recent attempt to change the covers of the Marine Corps.
Those few that I would not trust were also those that good NCOs were working to put out of the service. And there lies the heart of the problem: During, and after, Vietnam, the officer corps preempted the role and authority of the non-commissioned officer corps. I know that applies in the Army, but I am not at all sure about the Marines, Navy, or Air Force as I have no recent experience with them.
Added to the above is the fact that certain politicians regard the military as the ideal laboratory for social experimentation. An example of this is Dear Leader's recent attempt to change the covers of the Marine Corps.