A Tale from Another Army

Preparing for what is to come.

I want to start this stack with a small caveat. I have never visited the Philippines or worked with the Philippine Army in the field. Plenty will have greater insight at the macro level. Nonetheless, I want to relate a story from time on course with some Filipino Armour Officers. It offers an interesting perspective on what is to come, and it is coming.

While on my armour advanced course, we had the pleasure of the company of two Filipino officers. Whilst having the usual after TEWT drink, commiserating getting another bare pass, at the bar, I asked the officers what each ribbon on their uniform meant (they wore a metal enamel ribbon bar, even in light field kit). He dialled them off. When he got to the last one, he said it was for supporting the People Power Revolution against Ferdinand Marcos. Stupidly, I asked what happened to those who didn’t help the revolution. His polite response, ‘They didn’t get one.’

I had to ask what specifically happened.

The officer was serving in the armoured unit based in Manila. For all those not aware of dictators' modus operandi, some form of powerful and loyal unit is held close to the Presidential Palace as an anti-coup force. A Praetorian Guard. This was such a unit.

When the masses took to the streets, this unit was given the order to do likewise and suppress the protests. The commander gathered the officers in the mess (club) and told them the situation. He said he had to decide, we either support the people, or we support Marcos. It was not an order he could give unless the unit were behind him.

The officers were given some time to discuss this and decided to support the people. The commander then called the unit on parade; he briefed the soldiers on the situation and the officers’ decision. He told the soldiers to return to barracks for an hour, then return and advise him. He stated that once committed, it was all in either way. Fortunately, but not unsurprisingly, they sided with the people. That was it, wagons roll. The rest is literally history.

One leadership challenge that I had not been taught about in college. It is, however, interesting to note that Xenophon led his army on the Persian Expedition in such a manner. The Roman Army of the Republic was arguably similar. As John Keegan mentions, the standing professional armies of the mid to late 20^th Century are somewhat of an anomaly in their relationship to society.

We are about to see a few Western militaries (one, maybe two) being tested in this manner. One in the Middle East has certainly failed recently. This is not something military training prepares you for, nor is it necessarily related to recent operations. Yes, Western militaries have landed in such situations as occupiers and advisers, but not in this ‘whole of body’ manner. I always find Western criticisms of militaries like this intensely ignorant and patronising. The rise of the lethality god in Western military rhetoric will only exacerbate this lack of understanding.

There are two other points I wish to make.

Firstly, oaths to flags, heads of state, pieces of parchment and claims of ‘sacred duty’ are useless without being framed in the context of the society you serve. Interestingly, in the US, the Tangerine Tyrant has publicly stated that it is not his duty to unify the nation. Stunningly, an Australian shadow minister (for Home Affairs) has implied the same. So how can you protect the people if you consider some of them fundamentally evil? You should only protect those that aren’t ‘bad’ (according to the leader, who should not be questioned), let bullets, not the legal system, sort it out. I am unsurprised by Trump, but the unthinking mimicry and vile falsehood of an Australian MP is something to behold (particularly one who once served).

The final, more optimistic point is that of the tipping point that moral courage can create. Time and time again, when people stand up to these oppressive tactics, decay is prevented. The recent example of the City of Chicago resisting ICE and National Guard deployment in institutional totality is similar; they just aren’t going to take this nonsense. The Philippines is a nation with a massively troubled past (thanks in no small measure to the US and others), and a difficult present. That such moral courage can show through is an exemplar for the West. Any rhetoric that seeks to split a nation is a mark of seeking unbridled power in the chaos. It is heartening to know that good people can still bring order with or without the levers of state, preferably with, and this is the challenge rising before some societies and their militaries right now.