Sometimes we don't agree

Day 1,748, 11:48 • Published in USA USA • by Avruch

Sometimes we don't agree, and thatz okay. (ht: Gawker).

Many of us have served in a number of different military units in this game; some official, some not. They've had different cultures, different communities, different standards of behavior. In some units I've been in, you risked your position in the unit if you expressed even faint disagreement. I've had one "general" SCREAM AT ME IN ALL CAPS for no particular reason - later I learned this was a common occurrence in that particular unit.



I never liked that feeling of having to keep my mouth shut. I have no interest in "toeing the party line" or saying only what it is popular to say. So when a couple of other guys and I set to creating our own military unit, we made one that had no real rules about what you could say or do. No ranks, no platoons, no formal "code of conduct." No one cared if you gave the founders a hard time or had different (even drastically different) opinions. All that mattered was you followed the battle orders; if you did that, you got your kit and you could stay in the unit as long as you liked.



Not long after that I had the opportunity to create, from the ground up, a new United States Armed Forces. We built the Armed Forces with the same ethos - you can say what you want, as long as you follow the right orders. That was the rule then, and it's the rule now. Being part of the USAF has nothing to do with a party, or politics. If you disagree with your leadership, that's fine. If you want to argue, go ahead. As long as you don't disrupt the unit or break your orders, you have complete freedom. It's a game, we play for fun, and we have no interest in stocking our units with yes-men or people too afraid to have an opinion.



But if you cross that line - if you fight against the USA, or fight for an enemy without orders, or fight against US interests, or tell others to do the same... You need to find another unit. There are a lot of MUs in this country, and even more around the rest of the world. Find somewhere where you can obey orders.

Here's an example of crossing the line from a former Air Force soldier who has been discharge😛



Here's another:



Those are just two of many similar examples. Once you cross this line, the USAF is no longer your home. Some have said this violates the principles of free speech, you're trying to control soldiers' opinions, its the trrbl elitists taking over, etc. etc.



But even Thomas Jefferson would know that a man who tells his friends and fellow soldiers to violate orders doesn't belong in the government's military, doesn't deserve government tanks and food, and is no longer fit to serve.