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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1997)
inday - June 2, 1997 The Battalion 52 loveshack male bomber pilot dismissed from military duties, humiliates Air Force Ifoi helJ.S. military finds it self in trouble concern- ingwomen yet again, jiavyhad itsTailhook, the Q jisdealing with the sexu- ,7fl;conduct of its drill antsand now the Air v lfhasits bomber pilot. t *Lt. Kelly Flinn was Jied a general discharge "itheAir Force last week amedia frenzy which fo- onthe possibility of her fecourtmartialed for disobeying klyingto superiors, committing leryand other charges. Flinn asked lahonorable discharge, claiming ladbeen “young and foolish” and M.lp mistake.” dope this may be a true statement, sly, Iks not excuse the irresponsible be- |o*[shown by Flinn which damaged liiedibility of her sworn service arm Ihedliiemonstrated she is unfit to be an pittrin the United States military. nds|inn’s supporters have tried to por- |fijperas a victim of an Air Force 2pdiscriminates against women in idiks. Senator Trent Lott, R-Miss., llFlinnhad been “badly abused” de- jl*|tthefact that she is neither the first [ 'I lie only woman to face charges for ikery.Lastyear, the Air Force prose- . 1167people for adultery, seven of Ij :liwere women. IJ ottlater admitted he spoke before JtdaUthe facts. This irresponsible | t l ie nentand other political pressure 1{) Jijhtby lawmakers and women’s h/^advocates weighed heavily on the ji ia :onnotto court-martial Flinn and a :adoffer her the discharge package. Lithe whole argument about adul- lutffprlooks the bigger issues in- top Asa B-52 bomber pilot, Flinn jrthpengiven the responsibility for |tt»®iage and delivery of nuclear de- /i Columnist Robby Ray Senior speech communications major vices and for the safety of her crew. She showed that she is not trustworthy to stay away from the husband of another member of the Air Force. What’s disturbing is an officer with such responsibility is also capable of disobeying direct orders from superiors and ly ing about her actions. This is not conduct worthy of an offi cer in the U.S. military. Whether Flinn deserved to wear her uniform is difficult to address, but her actions during the past few months have proved she is no longer worthy of the honor behind the wings she used to wear on her chest. Lawmakers and others asking the Air Force to return Flinn to her duties with out discipline shows both ignorance of military methods of operation and dis regard for the honor of those officers who wear their country’s uniform proudly. Allowing whining politicians to tell generals how to run the military is dangerous unless Americans want to revisit the horrors ofVietnam. At Texas A&M, the Corps of Cadets strives to train its members as "Sol diers, Statesmen and Knightly Gentle men.” Blatant dishonesty and disobe dience is not to be tolerated. Among the general student population, the Aggie Code of Honor states clear defin itions of moral character. It seems Flinn is not honorable enough to be an Aggie either. As part of her discharge package, Flinn is required to pay back the equivalent of one year’s worth of tu ition at the Air Force Academy, which works out to approximately $18,000. This should not be a problem, howev er, because the advance for her book deal will more than cover the costs, or perhaps the royalties from her TV movie that is sure to follow. Possibly Flinn could just use the fee from her first speaking engagement. It is unfor givable that an officer could use such a dishonorable act to reap such a profit, but such is America, the land of opportunity. In a statement accepting the government’s proposal of a gen eral discharge, Flinn’s lawyer said she had “decided to place the best interests of the Air Force ahead of her own.” It seems Flinn has discovered too late a de sire to serve the Air Force. It is too bad she didn’t feel this way when she bedded the husband and destroyed the marriage of an other member of the Air Force. And it’s too bad Flinn wasn’t thinking of the Air Force when she spoke to the national press and single-handedly destroyed its reputation for years to come. The reason for teaching sol diers to obey lawful orders is so they never have to decide be tween their interest or that of the country; they automatically put their own second and obey the order. By not enforcing its regulations, the military reduces and weakens confi dence in regulations, therefore weak ening the military and the country. JLjC t The Battalion Established in 1893 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials board members. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Bat talion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters express the opinions of the authors. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting guest columns. Editorials Board Stew Milne Editor in Chief Helen Clancy Managing Editor James Francis Opinion Editor John LeBas City Editor Expansion of NATO intrudes upon relations with Russian comrades Iras Searing Fails to Address Root of Corps Hazing Allegations General Franklin Columnist, Junior history major lalexas A&M disciplinary hearing May 22, two former cadets iedan officer in the Trigon had been aware of the hazing which ipired under their leadership. According to the written state- sofDustin Boyd and Javier Chapa, this unnamed officer said to I luci: I know what’s going on, just don’t get caught.” is is true, then the nine former cadets facing criminal charges iso victims. topegoating is the issue Jim James, the attorney of three of the nine Is,dwells upon. The officers overseeing the cadets were not held ac table for the events which took place under their leadership. •ice five of their supervising officers declined to attend the hear- %dand Chapa could only direct questions to Col. Donald John- fiie decision by these officers not to attend casts reasonable “ton the leadership within the Corps of Cadets. t'M students should wonder why these officers are unwilling to an swer questions from former cadets who are in desperate need of answers. James’ clients read their statements to the panel, emphasizing that as advisers, they worked to outlaw the most severe forms of hazing. They described the hazing they endured as freshmen, only to have Johnson deny any previous knowledge of hazing practices within the Fish Drill Team. It seems the officers are turning their backs on these young men at a time when hazing is not tolerated in any form. These nine former cadets are in a vulnerable position as they shoulder the blame for ac tions many feel were sanctioned by these officers. In order for Maj.Gen. Hopgood to stamp out hazing completely, actions must be directed toward the root of the problem, not simply thrown at the perpetrators. In the end, individuals who condone or ignore hazing are just as guilty as the ones who commit the act. T he recent campaign for NATO expansion must be obstructed. The admis sion of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will ignite conflicts within Eastern Europe and sabotage the gains of Unit ed States policy initiatives in Russia. Russia is being pushed away from democracy toward ultranationalism. The primary detriment of NATO expansion is that it would fuel old conflicts with Russia and new NATO mem bers, while Russia may become more hostile if it feels these new members are challenging their power and influence. The Russians’ main response to this ill-fated situation would be one of paranoia, since they feel exclusion from NATO will make them vulnerable if all their neighbors in Eastern Eu rope are part of the powerful, yet inept alliance. Many extremist groups are feeding off the hysteria and fear of a defensive Russian society by encouraging more nationalism and less international coopera tion with other countries in the global community. According to Yegr Gaider, leader of the demo cratic party, Russia’s Choice (which has lost influence), "Ex pansion will heighten hysteria and xenophobia, leading to a...militaristic government not afraid to violently assert its sov ereignty in the area with their military and their still significant arsenal of nuclear weapons.” Out of retaliation, it is expect ed that Russia will violate many of its disarmament treaties if the expansion triumphs. The equa tion seems ominous: Russian hysteria plus a dangerous arse nal of nuclear weapons would shatter the fragile and short lived peace of central Europe. Russia would assert its authority causing conflicts with Poland, the Czech Republic and other new NATO members. Furthermore, history has demonstrated how entangle ments of dangerous alliances in the Balkan region have lead to both previous world wars. The expansion of NATO will move Russia toward greater tyranny and again split Europe between democratic and ultra nationalists nations. More than 75 percent of the Russian popu lation would probably prefer to return to the old days of isola tion and repression if the expan sion actually occurs. The expansion also is unneces sary because U.S. policies inde pendent of the NATO alliance have carved out peace and elections in Bosnia and furthered the develop ment of stronger democracies in eastern European nations, such as Poland and Hungary. The only way to continue this progress is to stop the NATO expansion before it ru ins the newfound tranquility of the area and set the stage for an un wanted and potentially dangerous second cold war. i Mail Call The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude the author’s name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: nn Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor.