Civilians are going to be confused by the issue, because there are elements of the military which cannot be imagined by civilians. It is not an existence parallel to civilian life. Without experiencing it, trying to understand is bound to be frustrating.
Just a simple thing like bootcamp is so very different, recruits can go through weeks without comprehending that right on the other side of the wall, there are people chewing gum, throwing the wrapper on the ground, tying a left shoe.
Everything in the military has to fit together like zipper teeth.
Fluther frequently has tech questions. Members attempting to answer the question will approach with questions about servers, year of manufacture, model, updates, etc. The military doesn’t function like that. When someone in this country relays to another country instructions for a maneuver or action, there are no disparities to discuss. Receiving end has no questions because equipment, software, functions are all interconnected.
To introduce a new weapon, or plan is not so simple as you think. Research is done to death. Changes go through Congress. Change of something means that change goes worldwide. GMT general military training gets mapped out down to the letter, and all around the world are people learning this new thing at nearly the same moments.
I was stationed back to back with a research center. We were stuck working with stuff the rest of the navy never saw. Ick! Some of the stupid devices they come up with!
When they started stationing women aboard ships, notices went out worldwide. This head (toilet) on this level, after will now be designated for female personnel. For frigates location will be “X” LSDs it will be located “y” etc. A woman could board a ship anywhere in the world, and for each type the location would be the same, and each one meant one less for the men.
No changes are a simple thing in the military. Changes must be something which is capable of a workable fit no matter what the environment.
For M.A.S.H. fans, remember the episode when they wanted a concrete floor for surgery, in order to cut the incidence of infections? They were denied permission because they were designated as a mobile unit, so everything they had must be able to fill up, pack, and move with them.
I don’t think o can adequately describe to civilians just how huge an ordeal it is for a military branch to institute a change which must take place across the entire entity uniformly.
Changes of acceptance is just astronomical.
It took from Korea until the 80s to make it fully understood that personnel could not get high and pass it off as rigors of the workplace. In the Navy, even as late as the 70s, persons of color would sometimes go missing overnight because unaccepting personnel would dump them overboard, which makes the story of the first black diver all the more astonishing, in that he was actually alive long enough to make master diver.
Some changes are refused not to exclude, but to protect people who cannot be guarded and kept safe everywhere they go.
You can tell a few hundred thousand men they can’t kill negros they work with, but you can’t keep hard working innocent men from disappearing in the south pacific once in a while.
I worked under a chief petty officer who faced lots of that stuff, and his military career was permanently affected by an outburst early in his career. He shielded me, at times, knowing himself what perils existed sometimes for those unwelcome in the Navy. It was the 80’s,but lots of men still wanted women out, and they did things, sometimes really dangerous things, to make women look bad in reports.
If a change is not needed badly enough to risk all the pitfalls, they will fight it, and usually, that is for the best.
Watch Men Of Honor, with Cuba Goofing Jr.
It is watered down, but based on fact.
That behavior is only partly in the past.
The military is very, very, very big.
I think the best civilian comparison is this;
There is a new law which will take effect the first day of June. Beginning that day, everyone in Los Angeles with be Catholic. They don’t have to believe as Catholics, but every Sunday and Wednesday they will attend church services. There will be notices posted instructing everyone where they will go. All holidays and practices must be observed. Anyone found not in compliance will faces criminal charges. In addition to attending masses, confession will also be common practice, and information for that will also be posted.
There will be no exceptions.
Requests to move to another city will be considered on a first come, first served basis.
Imagine that, as an actual possible scenario.
It is not something the population could not do, but convincing them they should, and making the needed changes, do you see how big that would be?
Most would reject the law, saying they should live with their beliefs. There would be those who would insist they should have been told before they moved there. Jails would be over capacity. Things which had actually run smoothly would be in chaos. People willing to comply would be confused.
You can’t just declare to that many people, people on an already set path, that a challenge as she is going to take place, and expect that it will go as planned.
The military HAS to fiction with uniformity. It takes a great deal more to accomplish that than civilians can imagine.
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