To give you folks a break from the torrent of CNN articles I'm linking to tonight, here's something that's military in nature. Greyhawk of The Mudville Gazette is doing yeoman service in keeping the fire on LT J.F. Kerry, USN (ret.) and for that I'm grateful. I'd like to see someone beat that Massachusetts Merovingian with a clue-by-four, so Greyhawk is performing a useful service.

At the same time, he brings us some news of some nitwit soldier in Germany. I have nothing to say about the case, because I know absolutely nothing about the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the system servicemen such as this would be tried under. (At least you're honest. You don't even know anything about the Federal Rules of Evidence or of Civil Procedure, either. --Ed.)

What got my attention was a post in the comments by a fellow named Sharps Shooter:

On the other hand, I had a BIG problem with hard liquor as a 19-20 year-old in Korea, on an island.

So bad that I was singled out -with maybe 5 others- for a short, blunt talk with our CO. Scared sh-tless, I stood at attention while he asked,
"Specialist, you make $265 per month, is that correct?" (Yes, Sir!)
"And club record show you've been drinking more than $220 of that every month, is that correct?"
(.....Sir, yes, Sir.)
"Do you have a problem, Specialist?" (..Yes, Sir.)
"Are you getting rid of this problem, Specialist?"
(Yes, Sir.)
Quietly, then, he asked, "Do you need any help, Son?" And I responded that I would deal with it, immediately.

I never drank again. If I can do it, Glick can do it. I've been dry for 36 years now.

I'm no expert on how one manages a military, but the CO's manner earned an involuntary nod, one affirming it as "the way things ought to be". Give a stern on-the-record admonishment, and then offer support if it's desired/needed. For some reason, I like that. Congratulations to Sharps Shooter for beating the bottle for 36 years running.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 10:38 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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