Quote Originally Posted by Fuchs View Post
German soldiers are told that they can use the uniform whenever they want, but they need to behave properly and shall not mix uniform with visible civilian clothes ("Univil").

I heard about this
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/0...h-to-outl.html
on BFBS yesterday. This is probably a fail safe evidence for significant problems of that army.
I was recently at the Koblenz train station, and there were dozens of German soldiers, best as I could figure returning from reservist or conscript duty (do the Germans still have conscription?). . .they were in full uniform, but many had long hair, facial hair, piercings (not even just ears) and even coloured hair. I was waiting for a monocled Prussian in jackboots to come storming in and give them the whip, but it didn't happen.

I know reservists (an all countries) tend to look less stringently military than their active duty comrades, but these guys were still on duty and were sporting personal appearances that didn't just occur for the morning train ride home to their lives. As someone who doesn't particularly like seeing the uniform off post, seeing the uniform (even German) represented so was quite a shock to me.

Getting back to the issue at hand in the UK, I wonder if the difference in public perception is noticeable even in the new TV series "Warship" chronicling life on HMS Illustrious. Whereas in the US, this show would feature heavy metal music and a very serious Lt. Commander explaining the "awesome capabilities" of his warship, the UK series closely examines the Chinese Laundrymen (stunned they still have those) and the RN's football team as it competes with the RAF. More of a "lives of British sailors in the service" rather than a "We're the US Navy, and let me show you how we put the fear of God into people" kind of approach.

I think the British people as a whole are very ambivalent about their military, much as they are ambivalent about their role in the world with the collapse of the Empire. People I've talked to (granted, these are most definitely not military professionals) scoff at the concept of a "long war," which even a considerable segment of the US population takes for granted.

In short, the political disconnect with the UK and its military is, I believe, inseparable from the continued conflict within UK foreign policy about its position in the world order - still caught at the edge of Europe and the Transatlantic relationship. . . I'm not sure you can separate those issues.

Regards,

Matt