Once upon a time in the old Panama Canal Zone I was sent down to clear a traffic block problem. An entire Infantry Battalion had been given permission to make an extra long morning run on hte public highway and told two abreast when needed and not to block the road during morning heavy traffic. Shift change at the locks.

They ran four abreast and ignored everything else.

They did not respond to lights and sirens. Not the Battalion Commander, Noneof the Company Commanders, None of the Platoon Leaders. All Commissioned Officers. Nor did the Sergeant Major nor the First Sergeants. All Officers Non-Commissioned.

They all had local dricvers licenses which meant they knew the rules of the road when emergency equipment sounded.

The excuse was they had permission from the Traffic Sergeant.

Even though i explained, once that has been rescinded for not following directions.

So do we arrest a whole battalion? Why not? By this time it was not a traffic violation it has escalated into a felony charge.

Was the use of tear gas warranted?

I had lots of choices but I had them stopped at the gate going back onto the Fort and took care of it there.

A few hours later that Battalion Commander had words in front of his Commanding General concerning the civil and military relationship especially in the old Canal Zone where it was clearly spelled out.

The damage was done, shift change which involved tightly controlled transit times needing full crews and line handlers was impacted the milk was spilt and the complaint had gone up the other side to the Canal Zone Governor's office. This individual was a two star General himself.

I had no problem attempting to stop that run and clear that roadway. I did not escalate the situation nor try to arrest everyone . I did make sure the Senior Officer In Charge got to visit our police headquarters for a chat. and we had a helicopter pad close by.

Point is when you are under UCMJ you are also under some sort of Status of Forces Agreement or Rules of Engagtement or Rules of Conduct in each and every area defining the civil and military relationship. If you weren't informed of that it was the fault of your chain of command and the Senior Officer Responsibile.

I filed his name with the felony charge

This is a Lieutenant Colonel who suddenly for whatever reason found he probablywasn't going to make Colonel.

At that point I had been in the military for over twelve years prior as a Senior Non-Commissioned officer and later returned and finished up a retirement.

What those people forgot was in the USA Civilians are always over military even when under UCMJ. In the military we have a double load of reponsibility a privilege not expected of civilians. We also expect them to remember that and sometimes it happens.

My question to the Sergeant Major was what was wrong with that unit that he and all his First Sergeants let their officers, commissioned get into that kind of trouble.

That's the way it should work and I had been privileged to work both sides of the fence. That time.

What happened in the Canal Zone Governors office or the Brigade Commanders office remained in those offices. But they never ran on the public roads again.

Justice was Im sure served in other ways. An existing problem was repaired, and the ships kept to their scheduled transit times. Our whole reason for being there. The only cost was in the locks operation end and perhaps overtime for the workers who didn't get relieved on time.

Sometimes small things are not so small and can easily lead to much larger events.

One of them is disregarding what seem to be minor security obligations.

The question now is what are the Supreme Governor(s) of the nation going to say when they step in their office. the one way at the top of the pinnacle of the chains of command - the voting booth.

The infraction under question is far more important than a traffic ticket or hurt feelings. The buck stops with citizens who decide what kind of people they want in charge and the example they set or don't set.

The only Officer Friendly is you and your neighbors looking at yourselves in the mirror and and making an ethical choice., What kind of leader do I want in charge of my life. What do I do when there are two very bad choices and neither one is acceptable.

This next one doesn't carry tear gas in the trunk . Something a bit more potent.