I'm glad the Gurkhas are on our side; beheading incident.

[Dinner]

"It's A.O.K. to hack his head off when he's alive but don't you dare do it after he's dead". Er... That's clear. (Jesus, it sounds like a Monty Python skit)

There is also the issue of conflicting orders and the need for individual initiative while under enemy fire. In any event I'd say there were extenuating circumstances, tell him not to do it again, and be done with it.

[MikeH]

I'm surprised, didn't you used to work for the propaganda wing of the army?

You above all people should be aware that this war and Iraq are just as much about 'hearts and minds' as it they are about the combat.

All we know is that he was "sent home to be disciplined" for all we know he could have got a slap on the wrist and got sent straight back, but the army could make a statement publicly that it was unacceptable and the had disciplined the soldier.

No big deal.

[MikeH]

Also: He shouldn't have done it.

[Elok]

"Don't mutilate corpses" doesn't sound like a fatuous standing order.

How routine an occurrence would corpse-mutilation be without such an order? Is it normal for soldiers in modern armies to hack at the enemy dead? Or to wish they could? If not, it's entirely possible that this is just the sort of thing that a CO might presume covered by a "FFS, don't do anything stupid or crazy" general order. My mother never specifically told me not to stab the dog with my dinner knife; she just assumed it was understood. That sort of thing.

I mean, if I survived an ambush or what-have-you, I wouldn't want to go hacking parts off Abdul al-stabyubad's bloody carcass. I wouldn't want to go near the vile thing. But then, I'm not a soldier, or even soldier material.

[MikeH]

Point is, we don't know.

[Felch]

Let's assume that the Gurkha did something wrong. A good leader should quietly discipline the soldier, and publicly accept blame (at the very least) for failing to properly instruct and train. From the article it looks like the MoD is trying to pin this all on the Gurkha. That stinks of fecal gravity.

[N35t0r]

Point is, in the kukri, actually.

[Elok]

It's more the edge of the kukri that you worry about--this is an edgy subject for many people.

[N35t0r]

Sharp guys don't worry as much, as they've got a better handle of the situation.

[Kitschum]

It's not exactly that cut and dry, to be blunt.

[MikeH]

Let's assume that the Gurkha did something wrong. A good leader should quietly discipline the soldier, and publicly accept blame (at the very least) for failing to properly instruct and train. From the article it looks like the MoD is trying to pin this all on the Gurkha. That stinks of fecal gravity.

The lower down the blame can be placed, the better for propaganda purposes. MoD

[self biased]

It's not exactly that cut and dry, to be blunt.

yeah, but i'm sure the whiners and bleeding hearts will end up winning out.

[Elok]

Now, now. I know puns are fun, but let's not go losing our heads over them.

[N35t0r]

Yeah, let's try and stow while we're ahead.

[Elok]

At any rate, this soldier was a cut above the rest.