There is a lot of chatter in the domestic media right now about a certain cabinet minister who appears to have exaggerated his role in a certain military operation in Afghanistan. Yes, he was there and yes, he played an important role, but his characterisation of himself as ‘the architect’ – that is, the top level designer and strategist – of the whole operation is apparently completely false. Accordingly, he has apologised, frequently and profusely. For now, the PM is supporting his colleague, but the opposition, needless to say, is having none of it and are pressuring him to resign.
At this point, who knows how that little drama will play out but the bigger question remains: why would he say such a thing? What was he trying to prove? And to who?
As a child of the Canadian military culture, I probably view this situation through a slightly different lens than the average observer. What went wrong, I wonder, wherein this celebrated, decorated and no doubt courageous individual jettisoned years of military discipline and decided to grab glory over guts. Because at its root, that is what this discussion is all about.
Listen: my dad was an officer in the Canadian navy for most of his working life. My entire childhood was an exposure to military culture, from the slightly rarefied view of an ‘officer’s kid’. I enjoyed certain privileges that came with the rank – especially during the few years I spent on base (or even more memorably, the few weeks on board). But there were lessons to be learned as well.
One of the strongest messages I got from my exposure to the ‘officer’ class was the importance of respect and responsibility for the people serving under you. A good military officer – like any competent manager – would be quick to credit their troops for doing the real work, the heavy lifting, in any campaign.
So what faulty mechanism prompted the warrior/minister to claim not only credit where none is due, but credit that overturns this time-honoured credo? To ignore and overlook the life-threatening work done by all those under his command, and state – on more than one occasion – that, yep, that was me, I did that?
The answer, I fear, is simple: he has turned, from soldier to politician. As we know all too well in this time and place, politicians manage their own realiites. Facts, precedent, tradition are all pushed aside. What matters is currency, relevance, and ‘likes’. That is the only explanation I can think of that would compel a professional soldier to abandon his ethics and morals to pursue such an unworthy goal. And that’s kind of sad.
Not sure how this will all play out, but one thing is clear. This individual has surrendered his military and moral authority. Now, he’s just playing to the voters. So move along; there is no war hero here.