Soldier, ask not...

Notes during latter days:

14 Aug 2008

Read “Message to Garcia” and “How I delivered the message to Garcia” and some commentary about the theme of obedience to orders versus the questioning of orders.

In essence, when one joins the military, one has made a decision to subordinate himself (and his life) to the requirements of the service. So, an order that falls within the abilities and tasks that one is taught during training can be carried out with little or no cogitation.

But no man or woman is an automaton, and orders that fall outside the parameters of one’s training may be questioned—perhaps of necessity—for a variety of reasons.

Even if the answers are not easy or comforting, hard things go better when there is an understanding on the part of those who must undergo the tasking.