Boarding two naval helicopters, they then left for their base in Devon, where they are to be debriefed and to undergo medical and psychological checkups, said Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of the defense staff.
I think this is all part of a contest among high-ranking British military and law enforcement to see who can convince the US media to publish the most Monty Python-esque name. If CNN's next interview is with Commodore Sir B. Naanna Hammack of the HMS Naughtybits, I won't be the least bit surprised...
While I'm on the subject... I don't want to talk about anything even vaguely political but since this is Navy-related, it's got me spun up. Seeing those sailors forced to make those degrading statements made me sympathetic for the first time to the "OMG GLASS PARKING LOT!!!" crowd. Infuriating. Also, anyone questioning what those British sailors did or said while in Iranian captivity, or who thinks the average US sailor would be any better trained to deal with a similar situation, should STFU and go back to enjoying the ignorance those sailors make possible. That is all.
4 comments:
Alternate ship name: The HMS Turgid. But that might have been too silly.
There was a Brit commanding general of Northern Army Group NATO a number of years back, General Sir John Hackett (no, really!) an Aussie by birth (and not named Bruce) who wrote a novel entitled World War III: August 1985 that actually sold pretty well. I read it, and while unlikely to win any literary awards, it had a ring of authenticity. Since he wrote it about as well as one might expect of a British general, it did much better when plagiarized by Tom Clancy in Red Storm Rising.
There must be enough names to align in some way with professions that it's not that uncommon. We had a family doctor named Lancet while I was growing up, and the secretary of our high school was Miss Carbon.
Oh- and I agree completely with your "While I'm on the subject...." 90% of what is gabbled about on cable news channels requires no commentary whatever, if it merits mention at all. STFU, indeed!
Buck Turgidson has nothing on Sir Jock Strapper ... er, I mean Stirrup.
Post a Comment