Disgusted, I Am

I think ROTC is a great program. It does so many good things for young people and for the country. It provides the next generation of educated and trained officers for the military. It is a hugely maturing influence on those that join. I helps to provide a extremely expensive education to some that would fall by the wayside.

Let us not lose sight of one thing. ROTC is a military organization. Proper dress and decorum are a large part of the military image. It brings a sense of seriousness to the training and the tasks to come.

ROTC, in fact, the military as a whole is not a place for social engineering, social experimentation, or other fal-di-rol. The military are serious people doing serious work. They need to respect themselves and gain the respect of others.

So why in the world would the powers that be require both the men and women of ROTC to walk around in red high heel shoes claiming it is to bring attention to the problem of rape. I have no desire to minimize that problem. It has received a lot of press over the past few years. Some of that press has done more to obscure the problem than to shed light on it.

But where does asking people newly into the military experience to go out and publicly act the fool aid in understanding a criminal action that they are not part of. To make matters even worse, I cannot even develop a clear picture of the situation. There seem to be at least two schools involved. Some say it was voluntary. Some say it was forced upon them.

Whatever the circumstances, in my opinion it was demeaning, childish, and downright stupid. This reeks of politicians using the military for their own social agenda. Unfortunately it also reeks of officers unwilling to put their careers on the line to protect their people. So in my Yoda voice, I say "disgusted, I am.