{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "Now that Ken Burns is bringing into public consciousness Vietnam \u201cfragging\u201d assassination of Army believer officers by...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/167228477843/", "html": "

kontextmaschine:

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kontextmaschine:

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Now that Ken Burns is bringing into public consciousness Vietnam \u201cfragging\u201d assassination of Army believer officers by disillusioned troops

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That\u2019s something about the huffy recurring \u201cwell why didn\u2019t they ORDER their men not to rape/pillage/torture the enemy\u201d

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There\u2019s a saying the first rule of command is never give an order that won\u2019t be followed and it\u2019s awfully\u2026 civillian\u2026 to assume that if you made such an order to severely demoralized troops who\u2019d been taking casualties the result would be the order being followed

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on that note the real difference between the US Army and the Red Army in occupying Europe is the US troops were rotated out for fresh after every major push and the Red Army had been in the field for years

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the traditional way to ensure your bullshit orders would be followed was physical discipline up to and including execution, several U.S. presidents came up from militaries where this was the dynamic

there was an article recently like \u201chaha a lot of the mythology against going AWOL and deserting is hung off this one guy executed in WWII but in truth mostly you won\u2019t get punished and you\u2019ll be released without too much trouble\u201d and thanks buddy

(traditionally though, exemplary sentences of execution were often pardoned or amnestied after they and observers had squirmed enough in the realization you could, moderns overlook that)

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