A Canadian in Sweden

Swiss troops invade Liechtenstein

You have to feel a little pity for the platoon commander responsible for breaking 900 years of neutrality. I would have loved to have heard the radio traffic during that exercise.

According to the Dave Orr Law of Notoriety, in the short term that platoon commander can expect some disciplinary action, but in the long term his career advancement will go into warp drive because absolutely everybody will know him. Having senior officers know your name is the first necessary step to getting a promotion.

Dave Orr was a classmate of mine at the Royal Military College and a military engineer officer. During the Manitoba floods the year after our graduation, Lt. Dave ordered a dump truck to dump its load of gravel in the middle of a highway because he was pissed off that the soldiers manning a checkpoint wouldn't let him through. Dave was one of the first guys in my class to be promoted to Major.

posted by Jeff @ 9:25 AM