MUNCIE, Ind. (patriotnews.com)When I first decided that the world deserved the benefit of my opinions on the recent Army sex scandals, I promised myself that I would treat this subject with respect, and that I would be neither cynical nor facetious in my propositions and conclusions. I decided that, for once, I'd demean no person or institution, that I'd be dead serious and politically correct. I then reflected on this proposition, coughed, scratched my tail, and decided it was a stupid thought.
Perspective is everything. From the perspective of the general public, the Army sex scandals are, apparently, an outrage. From the perspective of the politician, they offer an excellent chance to safely rant and rave about things they don't understand (which is what we pay them for -- thereby obviating any actual need to think for ourselves). From the perspective of Army Secretary Togo West, they are a serious problem that could negatively impact his political future. From the perspective of The Old Sarge, it's business as usual, and why all the fuss?
The thing that intrigues me most about all this is not the moral outrage expressed by various members of Congress. We elect our political types to tell us what's right and what's wrong with the country. And they do a good job of it, only occasionally screwing something up beyond recovery. What really intrigues me is the transparent "sincerity" of our military establishment, as one by one they repeat their collective mantra of surprise and outrage.
Surprise and Outrage
Surprise? C'mon fellas - the Big Lie won't fly. The simple truth is that sexual harassment has been part and parcel of our military since the days when the services were first sexually "integrated." No one was surprised at the top, they just screwed up and didn't have a contingency plan when the proverbial "s*** "hit the fan. Anyone who has served in a training outfit knows that one of the hardest parts of the job is trying to avoid personal entanglements with students. It is sometimes flat impossible. There's no question that sex was going on. But there's also no doubt that everyone knew it. To deceive the public by pretending surprise is to deny the undeniable, and to do it in an unconvincing and dishonest way.
Outrage? Come on, the Army's top sergeant stands accused, by a female Sergeant Major. And wasn't "Tail Hook" about high-ranking Navy officers playing "touchie feelie" with female officers? If these academy-trained guys didn't know what was going on, and why, then we're wasting a hell of a lot of money on military academies that are producing idiots. What appears to be outrage is not, it's public relations, and it works.
But back to the Media's scandal of the month, sexual harrassment in the US Army.
"How does it happen?" Come on, I can't believe y'all asked that question. It's simple propinquity.
Propinquity
"Propinquity breeds familiarity." It's true. Why else would you keep that ratty old easy chair, or that broken down old car? Because they're familiar, and you've learned to like them and disregard their inadequacies. This principle works to the detriment of those most vulnerable to sexual entanglement -- the student who is (choose any combination) needy/insecure/promiscuous/etc., and the NCO who is stupid/incompetent/out of his f***ing mind.
"Propinquity" is what your school teacher was worried about on the coed midnight ride back from the basketball tourney. She knew that the very act of being close held the danger of sexual transgression. It is, in one way or another, the single concept that is CENTRAL to any fair and realistic appraisal of the culpability (or lack thereof) of those accused in the Army case. Everyone understands that if you leave little boys and little girls (even well-behaved ones) alone together long enough, the subject of play inevitably becomes something of the "I'll show you mine..." variety. It's the same with adults, only a lot more intense.
The Alpha Male
In the wild, the alpha male dominates the pack. Culturally, we're much the same as a pack of wolves. The difference is that in the wolf pack the alpha male employs his strength and teeth to dominate his male competition, while in our human culture, the alpha male's strength and teeth may be money, position or intellect.
The Alpha Male Army
The military emphasizes strength and teeth for sure. In designing training regimens, the military set up an environment in which one man, the drill sergeant or platoon sergeant, becomes the central focus of the trainee's attention for large parts of every training day. He is an expert in the art the trainee wishes to master, he is the single person who can grant favors, large and small, he is the final authority in all disputes, the lord and master of the trainee's home and hearth. For the female trainee, in many cases, he is the fittest and most talented man in her constricted little world, a true "alpha male," if there is such a thing in the world of homo sapiens. This "alpha male," however, is most usually spending the major portion of his day with his troops, leaving home early and returning late. His marriage may be in trouble.
On the other side of the equation is the female trainee. In today's Army, the female recruit is a volunteer, a young woman who has chosen the military as her desired profession. Such a trainee is likely to be easily impressed by the expertise and maturity of her platoon sergeant, and perhaps motivated by a desire to be near the seat of power in the self-contained world of the training company.
As you can easily see, in such circumstances sexual liaisons are ultimately inevitable. The platoon sergeant, working impossible hours, is often lonely, seeing his wife only on the weekend. And he finds himself daily surrounded by nubile young women, many of them very attractive, some of them willing, and a few even eager. The wonder is that it's not the norm. Or perhaps it is. It's certainly more commonplace than the Department of Defense would like us to believe. I feel certain that most training cadre have had, or have been uncomfortably close to having, relationships like those reported in the press. I wonder how to fairly assess the blame -- in fact, I wonder if it is FAIR to assess BLAME at all, in most cases.
Liberty, Equality, Fraternization
Like most retired noncommissioned officers, I served my time with trainees. In my case, the trainees were a little different than most. In the Defense Information School, at Fort Ben Harrison, the trainees tended to be a little older and a little better educated than the norm, and therefore correspondingly more sophisticated. Most of my students were studying broadcast or print journalism. Our barracks were coed, with baths sometimes separating rooms occupied by members of the opposite sex. Company cadre were mostly young buck sergeants. Senior cadre was a ragtag mixture of Infantry officers and NCOs, some more competent than others, and our sole mission was bed and board for the troops, conducting PT, and getting them to school on time.
This was my first genuine knock job in the Army. Since I was accustomed to early PT (physical training), that part of the job was genuine fun. And after getting the troops off to school, we (cadre) didn't have much to do except play pool in the day room and shoot the bull about whose butt was in trouble this week -- for fraternization. And this same conversation was had daily, if not in the dayroom, then later, at the club. And even on a small post like Ft. Harrison, or maybe especially on a small post like Ft. Harrison, it seemed that a week didn't go by without someone biting the dust. And of course, it wasn't always just NCOs. Fraternization is as common among officers as enlisted men. Many cases were solved by the simple expedient of general discharges for the soldier and reassignment (to another training company) for the NCO or officer.
Ralph Reed in Green?
Let's consider the ideal case -- that of a highly principled, professional noncommissioned officer who is dedicated to his family, his mission, his country and his religion. I mean, we're talking about Ralph Reed in green. This guy decides to go back to the barracks after supper, to make sure the supply room is open for the night's GI party. He unlocks his office, opens the door, and finds a 20-year old blonde lying on his office couch in a very brief bikini. What is a man, even a principled man, expected to do? As an Army "lifer," I personally encountered such a situation, and though I'm nowhere near as perfect as the example, I managed to escape while still the "Master of My Domain" (thanks to Seinfeld). The reason? I knew damned well that "Herb" (my fellow platoon sergeant and personal nemesis) was on the premises.
Master of My Domain
Another time I was called at the office by my company commander, a really attractive blonde Captain. Seems she had injured her eye the night before (rumor had it that she got into an argument with a Second Lieutenant, and he bloused her eye). At any rate, she had a doctor's appointment and couldn't drive. She wondered if I'd pick her up and drive her to her appointment. When I arrived and rang her bell, she answered in a transparent baby doll nightie, and handed me a martini. Did I then ring her personal bell? Let me put it this way. The Lady endorsed my efficiency report!
Now I don't have statistics, and I can't prove it with numbers, but it's been my experience that when a trainee complains of sexual harrassment, it's most often for the simple reason that someone has entered into some kind of social contract and then for one reason or another, fudged on the deal. In most cases, the deal is a broken love affair. It happens every day in the civilian world, seldom with serious consequences. But in the military, the offended person has the advantage of being able to demand, and get, serious retribution, ranging from non-judicial punishment (Article 15) to Special Court-Martial.
The hell of it is that the system requires that someone suffer the onus of exposure and punishment. How guilty were these guys? Did they coerce these girls? Maybe not, according to some of the principals. But you can be dead sure that some careers are going to be ruined, and most of the girls will go on with their lives.
Chris Rock has the perfect take on sexual harrassment. He says, and I paraphrase, "If a man says 'put out or lose your job,' that's sexual harrassment. Everything else comes under the heading of trying to get laid." And a man (or woman) shouldn't be punished for that.
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