Is Fighting Efficiency Lowering Discipline?

As I was ironing my uniform in preparation for the work week I could not convince myself that the militaries move towards an efficient fighting force has not also lowered the level of discipline within their ranks. I know that this will most likely start some arguments and throw me into the proverbial "Old Corps" group of thought but I think it is something worth looking at.

I spent over 9 years in the United States Marine Corps during this time I was one of the first groups to be issued the new wash and wear digital uniforms and the suede boots. Before this I was lucky enough to be a part of the Marine Corps when a sharply pressed uniform and mirror shine boots was something most Marine's worked very hard to obtain. I can remember spending hours on my boots and uniforms to make sure that everything looked perfect. We use to share secrets like putting a small cardboard piece in the pocket flaps so that when ironed it would not put an imprint of the button on each pocket. Knowing the perfect ration of starch and water was also essential to have a great crease but not the flaks that would form if you used too much.

These practices moved into my everyday life as a police officer. To this day I still iron my uniforms, wear garder straps, and shine my boots. On routine traffic stops people would often ask me, "you are a Marine aren't you"? Back then you could identify a Marine easily. They had a high and tight haircut and always had crisp ironed clothes. I had a spare pair of boots in the closet just in case I got into a foot chase and dirtied my every day pair. I also had a stand by uniform pressed and ready to jump into action just in case something happened during shift. These were things that were beat into all Marines from day one of boot camp. You ironed everything! It became so obsessive that if you spend hours on your clothes then you knew you would have to spend hours on cleaning your rifle.

All this brings me to the military of today. There is no ironing or shining boots. Now you just have to throw everything in the washer and when they come out they are ready to wear. A bristle brush will bring those suede boots back to standard quickly. The average time to put a utility uniform together today is minutes. The military had claimed that by embracing efficiency this would make them a better fighting force. My question then becomes are the men and women in the military taking all this extra time they would have spent on boots and uniforms on becoming better fighters? I don't think so! This attitude of easy wear has even moved into haircuts where a high and tight is now made fun of in exchange for a low reg. The comment of "I don't want to be identified as a Marine" has become the new norm.

I understand that with the new world of terrorism the last thing you want is to be called out and labeled, but are we truly under attack every day in our society for being in the military? If we are looking for efficiently I am all for it if all that extra time is spend on training to fight. Unfortunately I think it has only caused laziness and a lack of discipline. One of the most respectable qualities an employer could look for in a veteran was a person with strong discipline. If they would spend hours on a uniform think how much time they would put into the product you wanted them to produce. Attention to detail was a wonderful byproduct of this instilled discipline. I hope that the continued movement towards a military that gets rid of everything that does not have to do with fighting does not inadvertently take away so many other qualities that make a superb person in the working world.