Have America's generals lost their way?

Google – AFP, Dan De Luce (AFP), 13 November 2012 

David Petraeus testifies before the Senate in January 2012 (AFP/File,

Karen Bleier)

PERTH, Australia — The sex scandal that punctured the image of America's most admired general, David Petraeus, is just the latest in a litany of cases of misconduct plaguing the US top brass, raising questions about a military often isolated from the rest of civilian society.

Even before Petraeus -- a retired four-star commander -- stunned Washington by announcing his resignation from the CIA over an extramarital affair, a growing number of generals and other senior officers were facing allegations of ethical lapses as well as sexual abuse.

The revelations paint a picture of military leadership living a privileged, insulated existence, in a country that often discourages public criticism of anyone in uniform, after a decade of wars waged by an all-volunteer force.

The cloud forming over senior officers stems from recent cases that include the former head of Africa Command, General William Ward, who spent government funds to live a lavish lifestyle and ordered staff to perform personal errands, an inspector general's report found.

An Army brigadier general, Jeffrey Sinclair, the deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, was removed from his post earlier this year in Afghanistan after being accused of sexual misconduct with subordinates and of threatening one woman's life.

According to prosecutors, when questioned about his demeaning comments about women, Sinclair replied: "I'm a general, I'll do whatever the (expletive) I want."

His alleged remark reflects what critics call a culture of entitlement among top officers, who they contend are held to a different standard than rank-and-file soldiers.

Army Lt Gen Patrick O'Reilly testifies

 before the Senate in 2009 (AFP/File, 

Mandel Ngan)

Another inspector general report found Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly heaped abuse on his underlings at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). One witness cited in the report described the general's leadership style as "management by blowtorch and pliers".

Although the Army has come in for the most scrutiny, no service has been immune.

The Air Force has struggled to cope with a flood of allegations of sexual assault against female recruits at its basic training centre in Lackland, Texas and the Navy took the unusual step last month of relieving Rear Admiral Charles Gaouette of his command of the Stennis aircraft carrier group while it was on mission in the Arabian Sea.

The admiral was one of 22 naval commanding officers sacked this year for various failures, according to the Navy Times.

Former defence secretary Robert Gates, who stepped down last year, argued that the general officer corps had become bloated and a wasteful drain on the Pentagon budget, and he pushed to scale back the number of generals and admirals.

Gates also voiced concern over a growing gap between the volunteer force and the rest of American society, which critics worry feeds a belief among some officers that rules do not apply to them because they have put their lives on the line, unlike civilians back home.

To counter the trend, there are calls by some commentators to restore conscription, or least some kind of national service, to improve civilian-military ties and bind the armed forces closer to society.

The scandals of misconduct gained renewed attention after the most prominent officer of his generation, Petraeus, abruptly stepped down as CIA chief last week.

General John Allen speaks in Kabul

 in April 2012 (AFP/File, Massoud

Hossaini)

No general was as revered and prominent as Petraeus, the soldier-scholar who was credited -- particularly among commentators on the political right -- with rescuing the war effort in Iraq.

His successor in Afghanistan, General John Allen, now finds himself embroiled in the scandal, with the Pentagon inspector general launching an investigation into potentially "inappropriate" emails between Allen and a key figure in the case, Jill Kelley.

Tom Ricks, journalist and author of a new book "The Generals", contends that the Army officer corps has grown unaccountable and that it bears a share of the blame for disastrous mistakes in the Iraq war.

"We tend to venerate the military these days unthinkingly and that's not good for the military or the country," Ricks said recently.

Related Articles:

Woman at Center of Petraeus Scandal is S. Korea Honorary Consul

Petraeus scandal shakes Washington

Obama backs Allen over Petraeus sex scandal

David Petraeus CIA scandal engulfs US Gen John Allen

Paula Broadwell claims about Benghazi attack dismissed as 'baseless' by CIA

FBI probe of CIA chief David Petraeus's emails led to affair discovery – reports 

CIA director David Petraeus resigns over affair


"Healing the Military Energies in our family Tree" – Jun 13, 2011 (Kryon channelled by David Brown)

“… Most of the indigenous people of the world no longer exists. Tens of millions of indigenous people that were connected to the Divine have been wiped from the face of the Earth; and that includes the Europeans, the indigenous Europeans. What commands the Earth plane today is the pure masculinity, symbolized by the obelisk, where there is no love; pure masculinity and no love. As you remember early on in the channelling we said: Once you feel loved, your world is perfect. Once love is flowing through your bodies, everything is in order. There is no love in war, there is no love in the Military. It’s just a low consciousness government. Government meaning control of the mind. This energy will also dissolve in the New World, and these men, this people, will have to find an honourable occupation. There is a place in the world for all those who have become conscious.

  

As you are with your eyes closed, just let the feelings come into your body; and once again, hand over any Military Energies that are in your bodies to Kryon. If you have Military energies inside your body you know how to relate to this; either on Earth, national or an individual basis. Here in Costa Rica there’s a beginning of a dissolving of the Military Energies, and this goes one person at a time. Your energy, the structure of your energy, will move from that of a the pentagon to that of a dodecahedron, as you release this Military Energy. It is like the story from Gulliver travels, where Gulliver is tied down by the little people; slowly but surely you cut through these small ropes, and as your consciousness flows, you begin to stand up in the world, proud and loving. So just observe your bodies and observe your feelings; many of you will fear releasing these energies for this has been your way of life. Allow these energies to release for there is another way, there is another way to live your life, there is a loving way to relate. Allow the fear of being without the military energies to also come into your body... let the feelings come and let the feelings go... 

What Military Energy means if we use an analogy: it would be like putting grinding paste into the oil of your motor car. Once you release these energies you will begin to feel lighter as you disconnect from this reality, and, you will find it easier and easier to release any other negative emotions. Military Energies are the core of all your problems. Allow the feelings in your body to come and let them go... imagine beneath you the beautiful planet, Mother Earth, and inside of Mother Earth there is a pink heart... allow all your family constellation to move into this pink heart... your mother, your father, your grandparents and great-grandfathers... brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles... nephews and nieces... cousins... let them all go into this pink energy... be cleansed and purified, and allow these Military energies to release and dissolve... heal all the hurt that the Military has caused to your family... let the feelings into your body... let them come and let them go... as these energies begin to dissolve the New World will begin to come to you. …”