Please Don't Bomb Our Base
A fellow told me a story about how just before this big base changed hands back in 2003, the Army asked the Air Force not to bomb it. The was some ammo stored on it, but other than that, the base was effectively abandoned and posed no threat to any air operations. The Army wanted to use it and didn't want it torn up, hence the request to the Air Force. He actually said the Army "begged" the Air Force not to hit it.
To no avail. It was on The Target List and it must be bombed. So it was. The military result of this was the Army had a lot of extra work to do when it took control of the base. Another military result was the death of a soldier a few days ago; killed by a piece of unexploded ordanance, our ordanance, dropped on the base during an Air Force strike the Army asked them not to make.
After the Army fixed the place up the Air Force wanted it. It is still an Army base.
Please do not take this as a knock on the Air Force. It really isn't; too many soldiers have been saved by the Air Force in very many ways over the past 70 years. What it is a knock on is stone headed adherance to a plan in spite of the changing situation on the ground.
To no avail. It was on The Target List and it must be bombed. So it was. The military result of this was the Army had a lot of extra work to do when it took control of the base. Another military result was the death of a soldier a few days ago; killed by a piece of unexploded ordanance, our ordanance, dropped on the base during an Air Force strike the Army asked them not to make.
After the Army fixed the place up the Air Force wanted it. It is still an Army base.
Please do not take this as a knock on the Air Force. It really isn't; too many soldiers have been saved by the Air Force in very many ways over the past 70 years. What it is a knock on is stone headed adherance to a plan in spite of the changing situation on the ground.
posted by Carl at 9:48 AM
1 Comments:
It seems to me that this system in which no person is given any discretionary authority about which you are speaking (called bureaucracy?) has trickled thoughout this society in the form of non discretionary, zero tolerance policies. I wonder how much more profitable business would be, and how much smaller the government budget would be, with a little employee discretion?
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