The politicisation of the armed forces?

Over the past few days there has been quite a furore about the decision to allow the former service personnel held hostage in Iran sell their storied to the media. I've not really commented on it because I didn't see the point, and obviously today we have a U-turn on it anyway.

However, something that struck me as odd was the Labour MP, Eric Joyce's justification of the whole thing yesterday on the Today programme where Jim Naughtie's unfair and unbalanced presenting was displayed quite well for all to see (but that is a side issue).

Eric Joyce's argument was essentially this. We live in a celebrity culture, there is no way of preventing service personnel from selling stories to the media when sums multiple times their salary are on offer. Therefore better to let them do it and have some control rather than have a friend of friend do it and tell the media a load of tosh.

At the basis of this argument clearly is the belief of this ex-solider that you cannot prevent it. This struck me as only half true. Obviously a member of the armed forces is also an autonomous individual, so yes, if they decide to do something like this you cannot stop it.

However, you can punish it, and you can use the known outcome of punishment as a tool for prevention - that is after all the very basis on which justice and the prison system in civvy street exists.

The knowledge of punishment goes a long way to preventing crime - although admittedly in recent years that punishment has been seen less and less as an actual problem to some, but again that is a side issue. Putting it simply, as a member of the armed forces you are under order, if you those orders say don't speak to the media and you s[peak to the media then you get punished. i.e. Court Martial and potentially a few week in Colchester.

Interestingly, on Today, Jim Naughtie made it sound as if this would be impossible in the case of say fifteen service personnel catapulted on to the world stage. His argument was essentially that it would not be politically possible to do. Well frankly I think that's bollocks.

You know what you are signing up for in the Armed Forecs, you agree to follow the rules and if you don't you get punished for it. Period. Just because you've been in the limelight and the public sympathy it does not, and should not, negate the fact that you remain under orders.

I should make clear now that I am not saying those former hostages who have sold their story should be punished and put in military prison. Clearly they were acting under the orders that they were allowed to do it.

What I am saying is that claiming there is nothing you can do to prevent it (or punish it) is nonsense. The armed forces are not a political structure, they are military one founded upon orders, and orders are the tool for control and discipline.