Keep It In Your Pants In Kandahar
June 8th, 2010 by The Babe
Recently the commander of Canada’s battle group in Kandahar, Brigadier General Daniel Ménard, was suddenly kicked to the curb and ordered to return to Canada. The unexpected firing, almost certain to end the career of a soldier considered to be on his way to the top of the army, came after his commanding officer received reports that the General was having a sexual relationship with a female member of his staff.
His firing as head of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan because of his alleged affair — is the first Canadian general officer to be dismissed on the battlefield since the Second World War.
An extramarital affair might not seem a serious issue to those outside of the military. The public is more than willing to forgive transgressions by movie stars, politicians (including presidents) and pro golfers. But it isn’t the extramarital sex (Ménard is married with two children) that poses the problem. It’s that it happened between soldiers, in a war zone.
It turns out that Canadian soldiers in battle are not allowed to have intimate relations of any kind.
That includes kissing, hand-holding and passing naughty notes in the mess tent. Amazingly, the rule applies even if they are married, which Gen. Menard is, although, unfortunately, not to the subordinate he allegedly was having sex with.
The hypothetical scenario behind the military’s banning of relationships amongst soldiers in war zones is simple. One is unlikely to order someone they’re in love with to risk death. Even if the two participants in a relationship are able to set aside their feelings and perform as professionals, others in the unit who know of their relationship might come to doubt that they would be treated fairly
Imagine having to fight a battle with someone who recently dumped you. If ordered by someone who’d just rejected your affections to stay behind and die, might you not be the least bit suspicious as to their motive?
Had Ménard been a low-ranked officer or an enlisted man, caught having an affair with a fellow soldier, it’s possible they would have gotten off with a thorough dressing down from an officer, off the record, and an order to be more discrete about it. But since Ménard was the top man, even though he’d never have faced the decision, from the safety of his headquarters, to send another member of the HQ staff into a minefield, he still had to go. A general cannot be judged by a different standard than the troops he commands.
Would you rather have active-duty soldiers who are actually getting laid or just desperately wishing they were? Someone needs to do a study on proving that celibacy and sexual frustration – actually improves performance in battle or any other aspect of life.
Technorati Tags: Canada, Kandahar, Daniel Ménard, Canadian Forces, Afghanistan, Canadian, extramarital affair
