• Hey, I am a Military moron with nearly 35 years service experience behind me, all of which I volonteered for. I spent 6 years in the RAN and the Rest in the Australian Army as a Digger reaching the rank of Sgt, which was the ceiling rank for my job stream.
• In all that time I was always amazed at the perception of the general public that they owned me and that I had some greater calling to answer to the public for my actions and behaviour both of myself, my men and my service. Secondly I found the defence services were held to be at fault every time some fool laid claim to a complaint of mistreatmeant by a superior or his peers, which led to commanders Army and Govt spending money needlessly on investigations that were then spread across the land in the media with the said media and public screaming for heads to roll, and crying foul.
• Well lets just look at the Army (service) and what is expected from a civi who rolls up at Kapooka to be trained as a basic soldier in Six Weeks.
  We start with some young clean cut snot nose fresh from school and home who is full of ieas about what he thinks he can do, and how he is going to do it. He thinks he is a man because he has enlisted and is capable of anything, he is independant thinks for himself and will do things in his own time. Objects to violence being yelled at dosent understand being afraid or what a soldier really has to do except pick up chicks and look good on ANZAC Day ( A GREY)
• What the Instructors have to do with that smartass little shit and his 60 companions in six weeks is strip all their selfishness away from them, strip away their individuality, build up their basic fitness teach them to obey orders instintively, shoot straight and well, drill and weapon safety, how to dress and act apropiately and to be fully trained proud young men within the Army(DIGGERS).
• So from arrival to march out discipline is imposed 100% no excuses or apoligises give or expected, recruits can be put in prison restricted to barracks given extra duties or back squaded as punishments along with punishments within their sections. Is it fair, who cares its not a fair game to be in, its not fair to break discipline/morale in a section/platoon, and its not fair to maim or kill a mate because tyour to bloody lazy/stupid to follow orders.
• Kapooka is very hard training and its meant to be hard, it sets young greys on their road to a career in  an Army that prides itself on hard work mateship self disipline and pride in the service. So 6 weeks later Mum & Dad can come watch their young wimp as he marches out of Kapooka as a cofident proud tough young man ready for the future with his mates as a DIGGER. 
• Now his life gets tough because he is off to his CORPS Trainning, which is where he will learn his trade for his career whilst in the Army, and he will meet his next group of instructors who may be just as tough or tougher than those at kapooka, however this time round he is expected to have a base level of knowledge to set him in place for more advanced learning. He will have a lot more freedom and leave, but is expected to show self discipline and restraint whilst on course. This trade course may last up to 2 yrs and include some very complex weaponry systems and medical equipment.
• Lastely our young Digger will be posted to a Unit to complete his training as a private soldier within a section and possiable deploy overseas in an area of operations. A lot of time will be spent in barracks sitting around not doing very much and being bored except for going on exercises to hone his military skills and to improve his field skills, all this time it is expected he will put his heart and soul into his job and learn his skills to a level that will enable him to stay alive on a battle field.
• By now he has a group mates who are as close to him as his immediate family, and they all feel each others good days and bad days, they are so closelly nit they can react without talking as one entity and spend most of their time together . They will fight argue laugh cry and celebrate together, they will go on exercise and deploy to battle fields together. They lead a hard tough non comprimising life depending on each other to get by and when at play, can play just as hard with a one in all in attitude with a no back down underyone.
• Then some fool will try ti inteferre with the cohesion for one reson or another and the dynamics start to fracture, morale drops and diggers start to lose their respect for themselvesand their service. Fastest way for this to happen is for the public to show disrespect to them, or their commanders to let them down in some form or another.
• When dealing with the press and matters of the media and commanders , over the past couple of years it seems the public have influenced decisions made within defence without due process or authourity, on some idea that the public own the Army and its assets (people).
• Firstly nobody can Own a Digger they are people who volonteer to their servicesto the standing Federal Govt's of the day no  matter what party of idealism they may follow, they volonteer to fight and die to protect Aussie public Govt mainland and Aussie assets and forign assets as deemed so by the Govt. In return they will be paid a few bob a month and be judged by the public, local state and federal govt's, Military, International, Federal and State laws and by laws and be scrutinised by all levels of public media for doing anything wrong only.
• For the Imediate Families of Diggers, you are probably very proud of your young men, for therr achievements and their independence confidence and the field of career thay have chosen, as you should be proud. Your young man has trained hard worked long and gone through a nightmare few months/yrs to achieve his place & name of Digger. If ha has gone away and paid the price my deepest sympathy to you and my greatest respect to a lost Digger.
• Next we have polital correct correctness, I think the latest incident is the sex scandal at Duntroon by the Mooron who put herself in a position to be filmed whilst playing rabit. Great game dumb idea, going to the press even worse idea, by doing so she has damaged her own trustworthiness and that will impact on her fellow Officers of the class of 2011, even if by mistake. Officers have to be 100% clean and trustworthy or they loose the res[ect of their so;diers /men and their career is dead. As for the Idiot with the camera and his mates, yes it is illegal and he should quietly disapear. These sort of things are rare and mostly done where alchol is involved, and delt with at unit level by CO's, but every now and then one event boils out of control and every body and his dog wants to know what is going on.
• I once had some idiot reporter ring me up and pretend to be a Military Policeman investigating the Holsworthy Goal incident, where prisoners were exposee to torture and extreme punishment. Well after my first question I knew she was not an MP from Holsworthy and knew the who;e story was one little snot noses yarn to get out of Military prison, I know because I did his basic fitness for detention medical prior to him seeing the doctor.
• So now who owns the Diggers and who has a right to know how our Army works , well thats easy! No body owns the Diggers, they are employed by the Secetary of Defence and he answers to the Minister. Does the public have any claim to those diggers, no you dont not since 1970' when the public made it plain they did not support our mates, you cant just turn it on and off at will either you do or you dont, now you dont. Dont like it buy a ladder, or get out and welcome a soldier home from overseas.
• Does the public have a right to read secrets as Wickileaks would have you all believe, no you dont, because you cant keep your gob shut which leads to the death od diggers! Weapons and how they work are secrets worth keeping and military secrets are just that military not Civillian.
• Finally to all you tree hugging hippies and chaos theorist and  UN radicals most of you have no idea what you drivel on about because most of you have no life skills. try getting one life skill before running off abbout how bad we are off here in Australia, I do disagree with Carbon Tax and recycled water, carnt see much good in solor power no good in wind power, believe power of planting plants and treesand we could have a better life. But not with war violence hatred and predjuice.
• Go to some places with a war and look into the eyes of the babies if there are any left, or the mothers , or the toddlers. Give them your bag of M&M's and see the smiles, throw a little boy a ball or give a 5yr old girl a barbie doll, oick up a 18mth yr old and give him a hug, ho;d a dying mothers hand, join two rulers together as a bomerang that comes back and watch the look of wonder on 12-14 yr old kids faces. Deliver babies healthy and yelling then be asked your name so bub can be given your name.
• Yep I and thousands like me are DIGGERS and proud to serve our sunburnt country, but our country dosent want us anymore.