Ironduke

Source: Michelle MC, bravest girl in the Army | the Daily Mail

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The Buck Stops Here

glyn

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Semper in excretum. Solum profunda variat.

T_igger_cs_30

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FEAR NAUGHT

I don't work here ...I am an analyst!

Bluesman

OUTSTANDING, Private!

Just to be political for a brief moment:

Why is it, do you suppose, that there are as few of these stories as the press can decently allow? Because it doesn't fit with their theme that all soldiers are victims, innocent kids caught in a hell that they're powerless to affect, where no glory nor heroism is possible, and the only presence on the battlefield with them is unrelenting random disaster.

Well, it's total crap. And Private Norris is a new hero where and when we need it, and none of us would have ever heard of her or her amazing story of courage under fire had it not been for her hard-won MC.

I don't love this or any other war. But with examples like this, it's far easier to win it, and win it we must. But that isn't the agenda of the world's media, so these stories won't be told unless there's no choice.

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"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell

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dave lukins

Well done soldier methinks not a Private for very long!!

Bluesman

Dam' fine idea: if she can so much as lead another soldier as far as the chow hall, make her a corporal.

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Not likely, at least not right away. It is career enhancing, but they have to be able to do the job of leading before they get promoted. It's worth noting that the two private soldiers who won the highest awards going (Johnson Beharry, who won the VC, and Chris Finney, who won the GC) have both since been promoted to Lance Corporal. The MC by comparison is two rungs down.
Remember that being a Corporal in the British Army means a lot more than in the US army. The experience and responsiblity seem to be rather closer to staff sergeant from what I've seen.

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Rule 1: Never trust a Frenchman
Rule 2: Treat all members of the press as French

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brokensickle

Good job Michell!




Ivan

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Debbie

It is a breath of fresh air to read this particular story in regards to a woman who is portrayed as heroic instead of, as Bluesman points to, a victim.

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None, nor am I ever likely to get any (being both REME and a STAB, I'm highly unlikely to find myself in such a situation - and frankly I don't think I'm the type of person to act like that anyway). I was merely trying to inject some reality to the discussion by pointing out that soldiers with far higher awards - which the VC and GC undoubtedly are - have not recieved the same level of promotion that Bluesman was suggesting she be given.

glyn

Bluesman

Dead right, Debbie. Lt. Bluesman gets VERY ticked off by that point-of-view that military females need coddling and protection, like they were duped or forced into service. It undervalues them and their contribution, and it attempts to turn their honor into something politically useful to people that have no understanding of what a military person IS.

There is NOTHING more sublime to me than a selfless act of heroism to succor a wounded comrade under fire. She knew what danger she was facing, and she could've easily been the next casualty while voluntarily placing herself in danger. But she did something so exalted and above an ordinary human's nature that the only word - inadequate as it is - to describe her is HEROIC.

Bluesman

I follow you, pdf; I get what you're saying. But I think there is probably more to this person than a one-time moment of glory, and I'd fast-track her to a position of responsibility and leadership. She makes a great example.