Who do you tell?

Question: Is such a "demand" (giving out such phone numbers) by the NCO legitimate?

 

I'm tellin'!!!

You should have told her that she would be welcome to have your parents numbers, but that she had to ask you nicely.

I'm sure that, in any regard or at any time, your parents believe your behavior in the military is any of their business that they would then be willing and capable of and prefer to hear about it from you.

I don't know their customary or official policy on it, but I know the standard operating procedure for your position, in response.

Remember, they see whatever course they proceed to take from the perspective of, "they know what they are doing". You can even say that to yourself and others. It can really lighten the load.

"They know what they are doing".

Having said that, the position you may wish to assume in this situation is, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do".

Work that through each of the details of this fiasco, until you are able to pray and care for those who may have very well offended you, regardless.

Turn your cares and anxiety about all of the components that come to your minds eye over to God and ask for His help, so that you can genuinely let it be known how dreadfully sorry you are for your actions against a superior, you wished it had never happened, and be able to tell them, convincingly, that it or anything like it will never happen again.

Why?

Any future negative behavior at this time, in reaction to her calling your parents to tattle on you, or for any other reason could result in imprisonment, bodily harm, a dishonorable discharge in the making, or sudden death.

If those are enough motivation to begin the process of letting this little idiosyncrasy contained within the overall potentially more volatile issue to go, to go away and be sit aside, to be tabled as insignificant to worry about some other day, and to forget in the operations of your psychie right now, then by all means begin the journey of forgiveness for them, in earnest, as soon as possible, before you can be triggered by the differences of opinion you are having with them at the moment.

If you forgive not them which have offended you, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive you, means that God will keep the pressure on you and not allow that festering bitterness, right or wrong, to be free from the temptations and trials in life that He may allow, to again, trigger any negative unhealthy feeling you may have in you, justly or unjustly.

He knows any negative unhealthy anger needs to be brought to Him for deliverance.

Say this with me: "my season of forgiveness for these people enables me to truly say and believe, "I am a team-player and a good soldier always willing and able to follow under command, with the interest of my unit and country first at heart."

That's an order.

 

The Bible seems to teach we are to obey our leaders, even when they may be wrong, as long as our action does not go against the specific commands of God. So, I would say, yes, someone of higher rank can ask us for information we possess, and we should provide it, unless countermanded by higher authority. Thus if your commander says shoot women and children, obviously a non-lawful order, you can refuse. But in the case where you do not know "if" the order is lawful, it seems we are to obey.

When I was in boot camp, my company commander wrote to my parents and told them the army was going to make a better person of me. My Dad was deeply offended and told me he thought it was his job, not the Army's job. And to this day, I agree with my Dad.

The military "chain of command" is thought to be absolutely necessary for effective war-fighting operations, even though those in higher ranks must think there thoughts are more important than opposing thoughts from below. This arrangement is part and parcel of serving under authority, even though it differs from our command to think of others, no matter the "rank" as more important than ourselves.