Mark Divine is an acquaintance of mine who is currently serving in Iraq. He and his business partner Jerry Singleton, a former Navy fighter pilot, are the only people I’ve met who ever made me regret not joining the military. They live and breathe honor and dignity, and make me realize what I lost out on by not choosing that path.

Mark keeps the excellent NavySeals.com and somehow finds time to contribute to it on top of all his other duties. The following is an excerpt from his article of May 7, 2004, in which he reminds us that the overwhelming majority of our fighting forces are men and women of honor – warriors in the best sense of that word.

Navy SEALs.com – “General” Malaise

Warriors display an ethic that requires them to hold themselves to a higher standard than the average person. They actively practice the art of discipline—which is from the same root word as “disciple.” They are disciples of the art and science of improving themselves daily—in mind, body and soul. They actively practice Honor. Honor is a way of life for Marines and SOF warriors. Not just a word, honor was displayed in action by Pat Tillman refusing to profit or gain personal glory from his decision to join the Army Rangers—even as a shocked media stumbled over themselves to interview him and offer book contracts. Honor is displayed daily in the selfless manner that Marines, SEALs or Green Berets accept responsibility for their screw-ups. No one is perfect, and fallibility is an accepted part of the human condition. Warriors understand this, and though they strive for a state of perfection, they do not expect that their actions will always be perfect. It is the intent that is important. Honor, discipline, integrity, courage, compassion—these are the calling cards of the warrior.

This brings me to an unpleasant topic. As I tout the traits of the warriors, and am proud to include myself in that breed that is increasingly rare to find in our society, I must point out that not all military members in Iraq, or the US Military, are warriors. The most glaring disparity is with our US Army conventional and National Guard forces. Those who read this from the Army who hail from units that have bucked the inertia in the system and have risen above the malaise—I applaud you. It must be a gargantuan task to shine in a broken, low-morale and malaise-ridden system.

I hold out as my glaring example the one-star general in charge at Abu Ghraib prison. Brigadier General Janis Karpinski was wholly and completely responsible for every action in that prison—whether she knew about it or not. The fact that she claims she knew nothing is only more proof that she was completely incompetent and that the place was out of control. Her actions, or lack thereof, have placed the entire 1 1/5 year efforts of two hundred thousand soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines (and coalition partners) at risk of being rendered meaningless. The enormous personal effort by the soldiers and civilian volunteers to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis has been dashed by a single incident of amazing cruelty and insensitivity to the mission of the United States in Iraq. Of course those that perpetrated the actual acts are trailer trash to the extreme. They do not represent the American Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine. They are anathema to the warrior.

In the absence of reminders, I tend to think of the armed forces as one large lump of people, all with about the same function and duties. But of course, the different branches of service do have different traditions and expectations. It is even more poignant to me, then, to know that the atrocities in Abu Ghraib prison will have repercussions not just on the few who have been arrested, but on men like Mark, who serve under an infinitely higher standard.

I’m ashamed of the US for having perpetrated these crimes – we’re all stained with the sin of it – and I’m ashamed of our commanders who, by refusing to shoulder responsibility or blame, have left the true and honorable warriors to bear the brunt of the dishonor.

Never have I seen an administration so willing to talk about courage and leadership, but so vastly incapable of understanding the sacrifice those words imply. Mark and his fellow warriors deserve better.

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Friday, May 14th, 2004 @ 7:46 pm Freedom Matters
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