Army disciplines 21 at Fort Hood in probe of soldier's death

[soryang]

9. i think one of the problems is the poor professional training of the officers

...I'm not saying it applies to everyone there, but it does apply to the chain of command. They want to play in the sand box with their toys, act like a "leader" etc. They know literally nothing about the law. So there is a tendency to remain mute when untoward events occur or to try to steer an investigation for "best effect." When illegal things are going on, there is a tendency to sweep it under the rug. Doing the right thing, entails knowing what the right thing is. People who want justice, investigations, courts-martials, etc., because rape or a murder happened in their command are disturbing the leadership mythology of the moral integrity of the army. I think the legal officers that end up there tend to fall into the same culture, pleasing their command, rather than taking the career ending course of telling them something about a some legal or justice requirement that they'd rather avoid.

When a murder or rape occurs, it is easier to let people "disappear" or perpetrators commit suicide, than have the scandals aired in public. The object is to get to your PCS date before events blow up in your face.