Re: SNAFU

>From http://www.strategypage.com

August 22, 2002; In June, the U.S. forces in Afghanistan were put under
the
command of the "Joint Task Force Afghanistan" (JTFA). The troops to man
the
new headquarters were drawn from the 18th Airborne Corps back in the
United
States. There were, and still are, only about 8,000 U.S. troops in
Afghanistan, and many of them are basically operating in a combat zone
(getting shot at regularly.) The JTFA set up its headquarters at Bagram
air
base, outside of Kabul. The new commander, formerly head of the 18th
Airborne Corps, proceeded to bring some stateside soldiering customs to
the
wilds of Afghanistan. The new commander insisted that soldiers begin
saluting superior officers, something that was usually not done in a
combat
zone (as it lets snipers know who the officers are.) MPs (Military
Police)
were ordered to enforce regulations strictly. Not just saluting, but
also
wearing the proper uniform and ensuring that all passengers in vehicles
had
their seat belts on (something not always done in a combat zone, so the
troops can move more quickly if they are fired on.) The troops were not
amused. Some Special Forces soldiers  stationed at Bagram promptly put
up a
sign outside their area that said, "This Is a No Saluting Zone." The
general
ordered the sign removed. The general also had a high tech command post
put
together so that he could, if possible, micromanage field operations via
videocam broadcasts from the battlefield. The general also paid
attention to
the sensibilities of local Afghans by ordering the MPs to make sure
American
troops did not drink any alcoholic beverages (which the local Afghans,
and
other foreign troops, enjoy, despite the complaints of hard line
Moslems.)
Rumor has it that smoking may be forbidden as well, because of the
health
hazards. All of this stuff is called "mickey mouse" by the troops and it
appears that, as far as our troops in Afghanistan are concerned, the
rodent
has landed.

Any Septic MPs that attempt to enforce such Chicken Excrement in an
Australian SAS
zone will be politely ignored. OK, they may have a good laugh while
doing
it.
If it gets serious, they'd just escalate it up to the PM's department,
and
soon
there'd by a letter saying:

"Dear George,
One of your commanders is endangering Australian lives with Chickenshit.
This goes down poorly with the local voters.
As a favour, please transfer this dickhead to OIC of Penguin Welfare on
Munro base,
Antarctica.

Your Pal, John Howard"

In fact, I might just send a letter to the PM's department anyway, CC
Minister of
Defence. One of the advantages of living in Canberra, I know people who
know
people who can make sure Ministers etc actually get to read this bit of
mail.