Neil James questioned the Ministers right to withhold expressions of confidence in Commodore Kafer. As noted above the Minister has every right, but what James indicated was a disturbing view that the military are beyond political control.
James has a brief to represent the views of serving uniformed military personnel, if this is a widely held view it needs to be addressed.
Australia is a democracy with an elected government sitting in parliament; the military are subject to the laws and will of that parliament. Members of the military would do well to remember that they are public servants, that they are not apart from the democratic process, many may be exceptional people but they are not exempt from the conventions and practices which govern the rest of society, illustrated positively and at its best by the magnificent contribution of the ADF during the Queensland floods.
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Smith's review does not go far enough, but it is a start. He must stick with it. He is to be congratulated for finding the moral courage to act. He has shamed many of the senior officers around him, who rely on braid and medals to stand-over and awe and at times bully, but he has shown them that there is a difference between moral and physical courage - and most need a good dose of the former.
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