Dutch Soldiers Stress Restraint in Afghanistan

[GUNS]

There is a saying," Never judge a book by its cover".

Well back in the early 70's I was on a base that had Dutch soldiers, it was up around Bergen-Belsen, Germany.

The Brits were there as well. During morning parade you would have the very much British soldiers, drill and dress by the book.

Canadians soldiers, drill and dress by the book. Then the Dutch,  long hair , facial hair all around, uniforms looked like they were slept in, and a I do not want to be here attitude.

The Brits and us Canadians had a very hard time maintaining an "eyes front"

After hours the Dutch were even worst, hands always in there pockets and total disregard for the rank structure.

As for their ability to be combat soldiers, I don't know. In that time and space of my military career, I would not have been comfortable with a Dutch soldier sharing the same foxhole with me.

But as I stated. you can't" Judge a book by its cover".

 

[geo]

That actually makes a hell of a lot of sense if you think about it. Okay, maybe it's because I'm fully Dutch-blooded that I'm biased, but the final sentence wraps it up. By blowing the hell out of the Taliban and inflicting collateral damage, people aren't gonna like you. Adopting a defensive mindset while improving the lifes of the people there is a far better idea.

Are you serious?

What happens when you leave a cancer fester in one area?... the cancer grows, it gets stronger AND it invades the healthy tissue in surrounding areas.

The Taliban & their foreign friends are the Cancer.  By their suicide bomber tactics & indiscriminate killing of civilians across the breadth of Afghanistan, they have proven themselves to be - a cancer on the people of Afghanistan....

Time to use a real big knife to purge the cancer.

WRT the Dutch gov'ts decision to anchor their troops in safe places... with the Germans, Italians & French doing the same - why would they be doing anything else?

 

[Mike Baker]

What happens when you leave a cancer fester in one area?... the cancer grows, it gets stronger AND it invades the healthy tissue in surrounding areas.

The Taliban & their foreign friends are the Cancer.  By their suicide bomber tactics & indiscriminate killing of civilians across the breadth of Afghanistan, they have proven themselves to be - a cancer on the people of Afghanistan....

Time to use a real big knife to purge the cancer.

That is the best meaning of our job in Afghanistan. +1   

 

[Eggy]

Dutch air assets were heavily involved in Operation Medusa and I'm not claiming that you didn't have any bad experiences (and I'm sorry they have let you down) but judging by the weekly reports from the ministry of defence they do use their weapons (often).

There is a saying," Never judge a book by its cover".

Well back in the early 70's I was on a base that had Dutch soldiers, it was up around Bergen-Belsen, Germany.

The Brits were there as well. During morning parade you would have the very much British soldiers, drill and dress by the book.

Canadians soldiers, drill and dress by the book. Then the Dutch,  long hair , facial hair all around, uniforms looked like they were slept in, and a I do not want to be here attitude.

The Brits and us Canadians had a very hard time maintaining an "eyes front"

After hours the Dutch were even worst, hands always in there pockets and total disregard for the rank structure.

As for their ability to be combat soldiers, I don't know. In that time and space of my military career, I would not have been comfortable with a Dutch soldier sharing the same foxhole with me.

But as I stated. you can't" Judge a book by its cover".

Can't compare the army back then with the one we there is now. There is no conscript army anymore. It's all proffesional. Facial hair and earrings and stuff like that are not allowed. I believe for this mission facial hair is allowed because it's considered a positive thing over there.

 

[cameron]

As a historian with a strong interest in military history this story brings a couple of interesting points to mind for me.  Like some of you pointed out, it was not that long ago that the Canadian Forces found themselves hamstruck and undermined by pacifist political leaders who had their heads so far up their arses they couldn't see shit.  This article is a cautionary tale, history shows that one can never predict the future.  While Canada now has a more enlightened government (not enlightened enough, but still better than some previous ones when it comes to defence) that shows some willingness to use its fine military for what a military is supposed to be used for, when the need arises, we have no idea who will be in power the next five, ten or fifteen years.  So while I earnestly pray it will not happen, there is always the danger that Canadian soldiers could one day find themselves in the same situation as their Dutch counterparts presently do.  In a war zone with their hands tied behind their backs, and consequently watching a reputation as soldiers, that was earned over several generations, being quickly eroded in the eyes of their comrades from other countries.