Well, duh
Graeme Smith has written what is arguably the dopiest, most inane article I've seen come out of Kandahar so far. It's entitled "Canadian forces regroup, review tactics after bombing", and the article's opening paragraphs echo the lack of understanding evident in that title:
Newsflash for Mr. Smith: this isn't news.
Ever heard of an After Action Report? A debrief? Soldiers are constantly reviewing their tactics and performance - it's part of being a professional. If they weren't engaging in that process, that would be news.
Continuing with his theme of treating normal procedure like groundbreaking events, Smith notes the 'quick' return of troops to the field:
Can I take a moment aside to ask that journalists covering the Canadian Forces bother to educate themselves and use proper abbreviations for military ranks, and that they refrain from confusing a position with a rank? So that would be LGen (no period! EVER!) Richards, and unless RSM appointments have changed radically since I was in, CWO Robert Girouard - who also happens to hold the position of Regimental Sergeant-Major. Thanks for your indulgence with that relatively minor irritant.
It absolutely astounds me that an inquisitive, intelligent individual - as journalists should be in the ideal - could spend as much time as Graeme Smith has with soldiers engaged in an important and dangerous combat mission, and not come up with a meatier report than this.
There are real stories all around him, should he decide to look.
One day after a suicide bomb killed four Canadians, the troops in southern Afghanistan were reviewing the details and asking themselves hard questions: How could they have guessed the Taliban would employ an elderly man as a bomber? How can they defend against an explosive so powerful that it killed a cow 70 metres away?
The most difficult question, however, was how to continue the softer side of their operations, mingling with civilians and helping with reconstruction, after the risks of letting their guard down had been so violently illustrated.
Newsflash for Mr. Smith: this isn't news.
Ever heard of an After Action Report? A debrief? Soldiers are constantly reviewing their tactics and performance - it's part of being a professional. If they weren't engaging in that process, that would be news.
Continuing with his theme of treating normal procedure like groundbreaking events, Smith notes the 'quick' return of troops to the field:
Lt.-Gen. Richards also hinted that more NATO troops may be pledged to the mission in the coming days. Despite losing so many friends, the soldiers of Alpha Company were given only 24 hours in the comfort of Kandahar Air Field before returning to duty.
"The soldiers are upset, angered, but we know that time is critical," Regimental Sergeant-Major Robert Girouard said.
"They have to get back into operations and ready to support their brothers."
Can I take a moment aside to ask that journalists covering the Canadian Forces bother to educate themselves and use proper abbreviations for military ranks, and that they refrain from confusing a position with a rank? So that would be LGen (no period! EVER!) Richards, and unless RSM appointments have changed radically since I was in, CWO Robert Girouard - who also happens to hold the position of Regimental Sergeant-Major. Thanks for your indulgence with that relatively minor irritant.
It absolutely astounds me that an inquisitive, intelligent individual - as journalists should be in the ideal - could spend as much time as Graeme Smith has with soldiers engaged in an important and dangerous combat mission, and not come up with a meatier report than this.
There are real stories all around him, should he decide to look.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 1:55 p.m.
1 Comments:
Yeah, I've been chewed out for not addressing a Sergeant-Major as such.
My point, Observer, is that Smith's mixing and mingling ranks and positions interchangeably, which strongly suggests he doesn't know the difference. And even if he does, he does his reader no service by not keeping it clear for them, since most of them certainly won't.
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