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
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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
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