Although you have the feeling that with the passing of the days the wind of censorship is rising, to use seafaring jargon, from strong wind to moderate storm, thanks to the web public opinion ends up still becoming aware of what power, in a broad sense, he would like us not to know or to be known in a sweetened version and minimal in form and substance.
A recent example is the slap in the face given to Italy by Libya (or by Turkey?) When 40 soldiers of our army, who landed in Misurata with a C130 to take over as many comrades, were forced to make about-face, get back on the plane and go back to Italy because ... because they lacked the stamps on their passports! (v.articolo)
Also in Libya, in Tripoli, the men of the Miasit mission operate unarmed, including the commander's escort, because this is what the hosts who benefit from our support want.. In practice, the Italian soldier is equated with a collaborator, an auxiliary, a volunteer, a sort of missionary in short.
Reactions from above? If there have been, no echo has been felt. We might as well replace our soldiers with assistants from the Vatican or the foreign ministry, as long as they are willing to refuse “Silvia Romano” style roles.
Also thanks to the web, the images of an armed unit of the navy that, under the orders of a commander-woman in a scarf and saber… maybe parade on parade ended up before the astonished eyes of the incredulous citizen? Of course not! Are you attending the flag raising? Neither! He plays nicely in a cutesy ballet dance, made up of small steps forward, small steps back and to the side, various sways and all sorts of graceful movements (v.video).
Thinking back to the famous dances of Minister Trenta broadcast on the occasion of a military pilgrimage to Lourdes, the citizen of a certain age is inevitably led to sentence: "In the dances it is the Trenta that traces the furrow, but it is her school that defends it".
The torpedo departed promptly from the naval staff to give the welcome to those responsible for the unqualified ballet will certainly be a warning to those who in the future want to indulge in similar performances.
In reality, another video recently caught the attention of the facebook people, showing a group of armed lagoons who, in the presence of their commander and the banner of the department, performed in a disorganized dance hall performance.
Thinking about it, we shouldn't be surprised at such performances; in fact, if some character has been catapulted from a disk-jockey keyboard to a ministerial seat, why not accept that an expert in dance hall ends up in a uniform? The boundary for both is that of not slipping from the goliardic into the cialtronesco, which is picturesque for a minister but unacceptable for those who carry a weapon or hold a saber.
Just enough time to feel reassured by the providential torpedo started by the SMM that the average citizen falls back into depression when facebook offers him the video of a union official representative in the Carabinieri who, chewing "dried fruit" with his mouth half open and not giving up an elegant rubbing of the nose with the index finger of his right hand, publicly launches harsh criticisms of the general command of the Arma because he has not yet issued the "notification decree" of his promotion to lieutenant colonel.
Moral: the officer in protest will go around with the ranks of lieutenant colonel on the left shoulder and major on the right. It is inevitable to take note of how even on the trade union side the Trenta has left an indelible mark both in the three armed forces (29 unions already operating) and in the Arma.
It is understandable that at this point the average citizen, especially if with a background in uniform, has an emotional breakdown and makes use of a formula, reprehensible but humanly understandable, like an old nation:
“But where does he live and what the f ... or does the hierarchy of this officer do? And why isn't there a surge of pride at the political level to harshly manage Libya's unspeakable behavior? "
The soldiers, carabinieri and sailors who respect the uniform and believe in their mission expect strong signals from above that mark a turning point in defense policy (translated: put an end to the disgrace of the armed forces on both sides of the beyond our borders). If this does not happen, they doubt that the situation is getting out of hand, when instead it comes to behavior due to incorrect political evaluation or lack of control.
It is certain that until our political class raises the question of the military credibility of the armed forces, its wishes for peace and collaboration will be welcomed by any interlocutor with a smile of pity, and in that smile will fade, as in Libya, the our national interests.
Obviously, a cry of pain on the part of the armed forces would not be welcomed by the political power because at best they would consider it a suggestion but a hindrance to its indefatigable and day-to-day "work for the good of Italy and the Italians" and to his daily “democratic and anti-fascist commitment”, whose hidden meaning has been eluding the soldier for decades.
In the knowledge that nothing will happen, except for a few sporadic repair torpedoes, the citizen with a military past only has the pride of having been part of the armed forces with which today he finds it hard to identify; a pride clouded by the bitterness of reading the reflections of old and new comrades in arms:
“I'm glad I don't have to wear uniform anymore. I would have been very embarrassed. Perhaps we have served another institution! Many think the same way. "
“I have been part of the Arma for thirty years and like you I attended the Nunziatella. Leave me alone with my anger and my pain! "
"As a sailor, I don't know whether to be more ashamed of those wretched ballets or being brought up to collaborate rather than oppose this invasion of illegal migrants, whether they are crafty or offenders or simple importers of Covid 19."
Photo: web / Facebook / ministry of defense
