Letters - 01 March 2013
From military values to banking
Military values
Owen Everett (22 February) is concerned at the growing influence of military values in everyday life.
What values would these be, I wonder?
The values that led army surgeons at the British military hospital near where I grew up in Malaya (as it was then) to work pro bono in a local leper settlement seeking to ameliorate the ravages of this dread disease.
The values that lead RAF and naval pilots and winchmen to risk life and limb in appalling conditions, often when civil aircraft will not fly, to rescue those in peril on sea and land with little more to guide them than personal courage, skill and a disembodied voice over the radio from the rescue control centre at Faslane.
The values that lead soldiers to deliver aid and comfort to those stricken by natural disaster both in the UK and overseas. It was the military who rescued so many during the winter of 1962-63. And it was the military, with their values of hard work and willingness to get the job done, however grim, that dealt with the disposal of thousands of carcasses during the BSE outbreak some years ago.
I am vehemently opposed to the military’s proselytising in schools and war fighting but am less sure about peacekeeping. It is not straightforward and the very values that the military instil for martial reasons transfer to other areas. Which is why former military personnel are found working in many public service roles and charities like Shelterbox.
Some may even be Quakers.
Robert Steele
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