[WAL] On DAF

Day 2,948, 13:21 • Published in Netherlands Finland • by Walhallah

Somehow I am not surprised to see this debate during Odan's term...


however, I am afraid I have to agree with the idea that Government decides who is the Commander. That's the way it was intended to be and thats the way we have operated previously. In my opinion it is a MoD responsibility and not a CP decicion to make, I have always made sure when I was MoD that this was within my realm of influence. However, down the line it comes to the same as the CP is ultimately responsible.

So yes, Goverment (MoD) is capable of replacing the Commander. However with Power also comes Responsibility. The future of the MU and its contribution to eNL are the criteria we should judge against.

However, I do have my doubts about the replacement, and its motives. With regards to the vote, that shall be my guide to vote against this. I dont see a solid reasoning (besides "he is difficult to work with"), nor a solid replacement as Commander, with all due respect to Tim. Every MoD knows Weekstrom is a trustworthy yet somewhat stubborn guy who will always be there when needed. Part of the MoD job description is to see this through and make it workable. There have been times I was grinding my teeth as well because of miscommunication, yet in the end there can hardly be found a better Commander than Weekstrom for the MU, which is why I happily replaced myself by him.

Dont forget, just like any government job, Commander of DAF is a very demanding, time-consuming and in some respects creative job. And this one should be a politically neutral one. I dont see Tim, with all due respect, as an improvement. He has never played any role in DAF.

My advice is to vote NO until there is a plan. And if theres a remotely robust plan, that is not obviously influenced by personal dislike, the Commander has no choice but to comply. Art 4.2 stipulates that the Armed Forces have to be politically neutral. Replacing the current commander by the proposed one (which carries obviously the same party-membership-card as the CP) does not contribute to that.

I promise you personally that I will see to it that the Commander gets replaced if there is a remotely solid plan, if I can do anything to help (perhaps my old influence can still help). Weekstrom is a reasonable guy and I have no doubts that he is reluctant because he thinks its in the interest for eNL. Should there be a reasonable alternative, I shall personally go to him and ask him to give up the command. However, I currently see a political crucifiction, and I doubt that is what we need.