Bad Officers - Bad Apples

The Channel 4 docu/drama The Mark of Cain finally got it's overdue showing last night.

The training activities at Deepcut has left no-one in any doubt about the systematic brutalisation of young men (and latterly women)in the Army. It was only the absence of lavish ornate tattoos which seemed to be missing to show the alienation that is built in and the replacement of older and personal loyalties to a supposed bond of a band of military brothers. "One for all, All for one"

The formation of the mind of the officer class was left unstated until the end when it weighed more on the Senior personnel of the regiment what they would lose by disciplining the NCO than by him being adequateley punished.

There are excellent reviews in the Times by Ian Johns and by Sam Wollaston in the Guradian

The failure of moral courage and the Army method of dealing with it, recalls Kipling's "Danny Deever"

They are hangin' Danny Deever, you must mark 'im to 'is place
For 'e shot a comrade sleepinn - you must look 'im in the face;
Nine hundred of 'is county an' the regiment's disgrace,
While they're hanging Danny Deever in the mornin'.

You can read the complete poem here.
No posting of it on You Tube

Robert Jackson reviews it also, it worked for us. The frightening thing is that this represents a tiny fraction of what modern imperialism is doing in Iraq / Afghanistan. Deep forebodings for this summer as a clearly organised, highly motivated muslims seek their revenge in the Mahgreb, the Sh'ite crescent and Newasian / old CSI states erupts.