When Julius Caesar ascended to power. all military forces in his presence were disarmed except for his personal bodyguard-the Praetorian Guard.

When Hitler came to power, all military men in his presence were required to remove or turn in their sidearms except for his personal bodyguards-the SS.

Remember Leon Panetta? The one who got caught with purloined documents stuffed down his pants coming out of the Library of Congress several years ago? When he went to Kabul last week all American military guards on the flightline at Bagram Airpatch were relieved of their clips for their M-16s-ergo no ammo. I received this tidbit from my son in law’s brother who was there (unarmed). The only ones allowed arms were the private-contract security guards (read Blackwater) who accompanied him. What does this  tell us about our leaders? Can it be that paranoia strikes deep? Do our elected leaders and their shills fear our very own troops? I could understand it if they took Afghan soldiers’  weaponry as they are a documented risk.

Recall that the crazed muslim shooter at Fort Hood, Major Hassan, was unopposed because America’s very own troops on an American Base in America were effectively neutered and the only armed souls about were private security? Gee, what’s wrong with this picture? Loyal American troops taught in the arts of weaponry and war, instructed in their use and implementation, yet deprived of the possession of same for fear of…? Shucks, you say. There’s no threat to troops on base in America except for the occasion lunatic muslim shrink. When you train for war, you keep the implements of it at hand. Using troops to police the parade grounds for cigarette butts went out after Basic.

Many progressive types insist on a tortured reading of the Second Amendment to arrive at the consensus that the right is a collective militia or military one. Now we are greeted with the prospect that our leaders don’t even trust them. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. When the current leader of the free world proposes striking a medal and awarding it to those who refrain from shooting, and instead, attempt to beat their opponents to death with their lips, it’s time to start worrying.

When you are forced to disarm your own troops for fear of getting fragged, you’ve lost the war. We learned that 40 years ago. Trust in the military was implicit. You trusted that the idiot in front of you and behind you knew how to safety his/her weapon. You prayed that these fellow warriors had enough sense to bend the cotter pins over on the M-26s when they took them out of the box. The operable word is trust in each statement. Your train for this. You prepare for this. It’s ingrained into your very soul like breathing. You eventually don’t even need to think about it. Your thumb just automatically stroked the safety every so often to make sure it hadn’t inadvertently been  bumped or moved. You probably tickled your grenades occasionally to assure yourself those cotter pins hadn’t snagged on your Alice Pack.

Yet we are now faced with a Command structure that only hands you your weapon when you get to the boonies. Likewise they issue ammo and request it be turned in when not in use. Trust, as a major component of our military is evaporating before our eyes. A closer examination of why seems to focus on the mental aspect of too many deployments. Perhaps there is a darker side to this personality disorder discussion which the Madigan shrinks are avoiding.

If you have a no deposit, no return philosophy about your troops and use them up like toilet paper, then this makes sense. Use them, abuse them and then lose them. At some point there is going to be a reckoning. Soldiers are rapidly coming to the conclusion, due to this “personality disorder” paradox down at JBLM, that there is something amiss. The advent of the internet allows all things to become known in short order. The days of the Stars and Stripes fishwrap as the sole source of info is long gone. Where once commanders were highly respected by their troops, the norm these days is one of benign tolerance. No longer is the “One man is an Army” philosophy taught. Hillary Clinton’s “It Takes A Village” is now de rigeur and required reading.

Wars in ages past had a purpose, such as it was. There was a clearly defined goal and an identified, uniformed enemy. We were “in the right” morally and philosophically, and “they” were wrong. In conflicts today, the ROE’s are numerous and the punishment for error is sudden and swift. No more is there a clear definition of enemy. They wear no uniform, have no respect for life, including their own, and can trade allegiances in a heartbeat. They have to be accorded respect and given a voice to present their grievances. Our soldiers have to attend sensitivity classes now so as not to hurt their feelings or offend them. They object to the drinking of alcohol but there is mere silence when the subject of hashish or opium is raised. The object of war is to turn the enemy’s territory into a parking lot. The concept is to demoralize them so thoroughly that they have no will to resist. Once hostilities cease there is time for milk and cookies, but not a moment sooner.

Our troops are not being employed to sweep the field. They’re being utilized as policemen. They have been deprived of the training they prepared for and are now helping build schools and latrines.  They distribute candy and toys to children in hopes that it will placate them. Throw in an IED every once in a while and you have a recipe for unmitigated, uncontrollable rage. Why would this docile populace rise up and strike back? Haven’t they been given all manner of presents?

What Sgt. Bales did last week should not come as a surprise to anyone in the military-neither in the rank and file or in the command structure. Watching your future and your finances at home go up in smoke while you are afield three thousand miles away has to weigh on your mind constantly. Having committed yourself totally to a life in the military and being turned down for a promotion a few times when you’re qualified can make you question your career path and the choices you’ve made.  Four combat deployments in his eleven years? Hello? McFly?

The fact that the media have already been the judge and jury on this will sway public opinion in a negative way. The decision on the good Sgt. has already been made. His fate is sealed even though they haven’t even assembled the Judge, jury and the firing squad. An example will be made to cow the others. Further restrictions will be implemented to curb the indiscriminate possession of ammo unless needed to shoot back when shot at. Hand grenades will be stamped with serial numbers and accounted for every evening at 1800 hrs before chow call. Pretty soon recruits will have to be neutered or spayed when they enlist to curb “undesirable impulses”. Paxil will become standard issue like salt tablets and they will check to make sure you swallow them while standing in line at the mess hall. And we were worried about the sunset and rescission of DADT?  Shoot, bubba. You ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s a brave new world out there and its getting more politically correct every day. Cowboys and “personal initiative” are a thing of the past. Marching in lockstep is the order of the day, now.