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April 9, 2011
Well, the military are losing the war in Afghanistan and the publicity war about the sexist culture in its ranks in the navy, the Royal Military College and the Australian Defence Force Academy.
Few believe that the culture of predatory sexual behaviour is the isolated actions of rogue elements, which is the standard spin from the military hierarchy in the Defence establishment. So why bother with the spin?
The military has form in terms of the sexual assault and harassment of woman in its ranks (its called male bonding" or mateship), a tendency to let the offenders off lightly and to victimize the women. They instinctively refuse to confront the cultural issue of sexism and turn a blind eye to rape in its ranks.
This is a culture that closes ranks: it groups together, it look after its own, and it thumbs its nose at everyone else including ministers who want to reform Defence. They are defending the country by putting their bodies on line so back off.
Defence have consistently managed to block reform and to get rid of reforming ministers. Will Stephen Smith, the current Defence Minister, succeed where others have failed? Or will they bring down Smith as they did Fitzgibbon?
The Defence establishment give the impression that they do not see themselves as under the authority of a democratically elected Minister, only the authority of the Governor General as the representative of the Queen. It's still an old style ethos of 'king and country'. So they just don't do what the Minister of the day tells them.
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The situation is not helped of course by politicians insisting that any and every member of the ADF is a 'hero', although to be fair, at least Labor ministers these days doesn't go looking for every opportunity to be photographed with someone in uniform. Nevertheless when one remembers the Jake Kovco affair it is easy to understand why serving members of the ADF would have a deep and abiding loathing of politicians.
The idea that Stephen Smith might try to tackle any challenge requiring political courage or principle gave me a good laugh to begin the day.