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November 02, 2006

God Save the Queen

Much as I love the U.S. Army, I have a great deal of respect for the British Army. When I was stationed in Korea, I had the distinct privilege of enjoying the last linkup between elements of the British Army in Hong Kong and my unit, 1-72 Armor. The British came up to see us every year because the 72d Armored Regiment has an important link with the British Army.

During the Korean War, the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment was cut off during the Battle of the Imjin River. For three desperate days they held Gloster Hill against four Chinese divisions. At 0600 on 25 April, 1951, Lieutenant Colonel Carne gave the order for what remained of his battalion to attempt to break out. Three companies were captured attempting to escape. D Company, Captain Mike Harvey, commanding, broke out by initially going north before turning south, and hit the U.S. lines where the 72d Armor Regiment was positioned. The Americans opened fire, believing them to be Chinese wounding at least seven British soldiers and possibly killing some, although the British never told the horrified Americans, who quickly realized their mistake and pulled the Brits into friendly lines.

Unlike the American Army, where units change names and nomenclature more often than Madonna changes personas, the British Army is a big believer in tradition. Because the Gloucestershire Regiment remembers what the 72d Armor Regiment did in Korea, representatives of the British Army would come up for a few weeks to spend time with the current incarnation of the 72d: 1-72 Armor at Camp Casey, Korea. Because the British turned Hong Kong back to China in 1997, their visit in summer 1997 was to be their last, and I was fortunate enough to spend several days with some of my British counterparts, visiting some battlefields, going to formal dinners, and showing them some of our training.

One thing I remember most vividly about that visit is eating dinner with a British Major in the dining facility at the Multi-Purpose Range Complex. I was a Captain at the time and, as is American custom, I called him 'Sir' when I spoke to him. After about three or four rounds of this he paused, and told me, "Andy, in the British Army, officers refer to each other by first name when not in a formal setting." For the rest of the time he was there, he was Paul. It's a small thing, but it was an interesting look into the different culture of the British Army.

In the U.S. Army, the culture is very formal and directive. I would never call a senior officer by his first name, and I would not react well if a junior officer called me by my first name. In our Army, it's just not done. By that same token, we can get ourselves into all kinds of trouble by disregarding any of the numerous rules laid down by the leadership in an attempt to maximize safety: wearing helmets almost all the time, body armor use, and so on.

But trying to explain in words just doesn't get the message across. But when I saw this video, it all came together. That performance is by a British Army unit in a FOB on the Al Faw peninsula. It's obvious it was done with the full knowledge of the leadership. If an American unit did that, it would take a miracle for them not to get court-martialed. (Yes, that's an exaggeration. But not a huge one.) And it would be a tragedy if that video hadn't been made, because it's hilarious. Sometimes I think the Army would do well to adopt a few British attitudes.

(For those curious about the video, it's a parody of this one. More history here.