CampinKiller

This was the interaction: The only thing that was said was "Stop calling me sir, I'm a woman," whilst you were already behaving with hostility towards Gajuti. There was no further explanation as to why, any additional context, nothing. There was no "deliberate refusal to accept being told to stop." Rather, you and Stripes both began berating the player with no further context, with Stripes going so far as to draw a weapon. A normal, good faith response to the player would probably have been "Could you please not, I'm a trans woman, calling me sir makes me uncomfortable." Instead, you assumed the worst and attacked the player. From simply being told "I'm a woman, don't call me sir," I don't see how a reasonable person can say that they were intentionally misgendering. And let's be clear, you and Stripes both said that it was intentional, both in the ahelps and in the complaint. I don't really get how you can claim otherwise. I'm also aware that you and other people within this group of yours are slandering me over this decision, just like Matt (no idea why he was included here btw). I'm only going to say I trust that this behavior will be dealt with by the handling staff.

The complaint in question was dismissed because, after investigation, it was clearly unfounded. As for the public with hunt, we have confidential complaints for a reason. They would have been far more appropriate than levying some serious accusations at a new player for anyone on the forum to see. It is also a bit hard to believe that you made the complaint in total good faith when these accusations had no or little evidence to back them up and featured vague references to supposed other incidents. People seriously need to consider the ramifications of things that they say. There was a very big implication that the person misgendered Stripes's character intentionally in yours and others posts. The stigma that someone would have from that and the damage to their reputation is quite large, and that's before the fact that they could very well end up banned for such behavior. I'm not sure how you could make that complaint and then sit here and say that you were not accusing someone you thought was intentionally misgendering someone of being transphobic. Those don't add up. The player in question said he had never had any intention of misgendering anyone and would take care to avoid doing so in the future. I'm going to take umbrage at this thinly veiled swipe at our decision. First of all, characterizing a note as "extreme" is laughable. Further, yes, threatening someone with a knife and locking them in a room because they mistakenly called you "Sir," when they have both called everyone on the ship by that AND have no idea that they are speaking to a transgender woman is not remotely reasonable behavior. As said in the complaint, there was no real attempt to explain what the issue was. Instead it was demands, threats, and anger. Quite frankly, it looked like Stripes and you were baiting the player and trying to get him into further hot water if they didn't kneel at your feet and apologize whilst having a knife waved in their face. The ONLY reason I decided to not consider anything further than a note against Stripes was because they were told to find an IC resolution - even though that resolution was quite insane. This entire debacle was completely overblown on both an IC and OOC level and was completely toxic over a genuine mistake from a new player, so I would consider it charitable that the only "punishments" dished out were a note about the IC rule breaking.

We have come to a decision regarding the complaint and have decided to take no action against the player of Ishwari Gajuti. The accusations that his character is a stereotype are baseless, though we can see why some might perceive a racist stereotype. While we don't think it was outright offensive, we will ask for it to be toned down a little. The use of "yes sir" would make sense in context of Gadpathurs highly militaristic culture, but it would be nice to have "yes ma'am" added without incident. It is clear to us after reviewing the logs and hearing from them in DMs that he clearly had no idea that he was misgendering anyone, was extremely apologetic for the entire situation, and that nothing was clearly communicated to him to indicate that, other than instant hostility. The player talked the way he talked the entire round. There was no possible way for the player or character to have any idea that Vien was transgender without somehow having viewed their medical records (which he had no access to) before being told that. We found that there were no reasonable attempts to explain the situation, other than making threats towards Gajuti and eventually pulling a knife on them and locking them in a room, which is against rules against both self-antagging and reasonable behavior. I want to be abundantly clear here, these sorts of accusations should not be flung around lightly, nor should they be turned into a public trial or witch hunt. These sorts of accusations can leave a stigma attached to a player even when they are cleared of any wrongdoing, as is this case here. It is also quite disingenuous to make vague references to previous behavior without any evidence to back it up. That said, we take accusations of transphobia seriously, and it is something we do not want to see explored IC, similar to "real" racism (that is, not levelled against a fictional group IC). It is even more bad faith to engage in this sort of behavior towards players, especially new ones, by becoming incredibly hostile about things which are not obvious. In summary, the player of Ishwari Gajuti did not violate any rules. Action will be taken against Stripes for pulling a knife and locking the player in the room over his initial comment. In the future, let's all act with a little grace towards other players instead of unnecessary hostility and baseless accusations.

Myself and @Fyni will be handling this complaint.

Binned for OOC reasons

Let's be clear, you were the only person who didn't recognize this issue, as in your own OOC logs: If you're not capable of seeing the issue with basically randomly saying to a group of strangers "Hey, do you know about scorpion penises?" then I don't know what to tell you. Locking and archiving.

Myself and @Loorey discussed this. We are not an 18+ server, we do not allow the discussion of topics of a sexual nature, especially genitalia (real or fake alien), on the server. It is an obscene topic of discussion, one that I'd daresay should quite obviously not be brought up. Further, Owen did not even give you a note for this (rather generously, considering the topic of discussion), and we didn't find there to be any issue with his behavior in OOC. The reason he was telling you to not talk about it was pretty clear cut, this was not a nuanced situation at all. If there is nothing else, this will be closed in 24 hours.

I'm not submitting any form of government ID to anyone on this server nor am I going to ask someone to submit theirs either

This will be closed, actions on the relay are not IR-able.

Election Day Coverage Continues! Article 28 of WINNER TAKES ALL: The '67 Solarian Federal Election The camera, after the traditional SANN opening jingle, focuses on the still tired-looking face of Harold MacMillan, longtime news anchor of the SANN. He nods to the camera. His desk still has the Callistean flag coffee mug on it and a small stack of papers. “Good afternoon, and welcome back to the SANN’s continuous coverage of the 2467 federal elections. I’m your host, Harold MacMillan. With voting still ongoing across the Alliance we have no final results yet, but do have some initial projections for a few Solarian member-states, and live coverage from across the Alliance. Now, let’s look at some of our team’s projections. MacMillan opens the packet of papers on his desk and stands up. The camera follows him over to a large screen showing dozens of Solarian planets with predictions written next to them — most simply reading UNKNOWN. “Some predictions so far from the SANN based on early polling: Callisto, Renaud — no surprise there. Luna, Sumida. New Hai Phong, Trang. Venus, Strom. Pluto, Pavlov. Some others: Silversun, Visegrad, Earth — strong initial leads by Strom. Mars, Ganymede — strong initial leads by Renaud,” MacMillan closes his booklet and looks back to the camera. “We now go, live, to Earth, where Eberichi Oteh is reporting from one of its most populated cities. Eberichi?” The camera switches to Oteh, who’s standing on a street corner in a very urban area. Behind him is a large sign reading “ELECTION PRECINCT” which has been posted above a door, out of which a long line of Solarians have queued. Beside it stands a police officer with his hands on his belt, and beside him stands a taller IPC wearing a vest with “POLICE SYNTHETIC” on the front. The sounds of urban life are all around — people talking, cars going by and honking, and the sound of a subway passing underfoot. Oteh nods to the camera. “Hello Harold! I’m here at 11th and Berry’s intersection, at one of the many election precincts across Earth — this one in New York City. The people here are excited to vote for their next prime minister!” some of the New Yorkers in the background give affirmations at Oren’s last statement. “We’ve spoken to a few of them earlier, such as a man who said he changed his vote from Trang to Strom after the last debate.” “Why did he do that?” “He said she seemed to blame the Sol System for her problem, and was concerned she’d be a vengeful person in office.” “Interesting. Any other opinions on the candidates?” “People in this area seem to mostly support Strom or Remaud, Harold.” Woman in the back cups her hands and shouts “GO RENAUD!” in response to Oteh, to some clapping and affirmations from other voters. The policeman shakes his head, having likely been at this door for hours. “Strom supporters cite his anti-corporate language and patriotism, while Renaud voters believe she’ll be best for the average Solarian.” “Anything else?” “That’s all I have for now, Harold. We’re catching the suborbital to Beijing soon, so we’ll have more in a few hours.” “Thank you, Eberichi.” “Of course. Back over to you.” The camera switches back to MacMillan, now behind his desk again, as he points to the camera. “We’ll be right back with more election coverage, so stay tuned!”

Your chance to comply was before you even were messaged by kermit. In the interest of not going in circles, I'm going to lock it, but if you still have issue with the decision, you can make another complaint to head staff.

I don't find whether or not you had time to change your vote to be relevant when you were told not to do it in OOC a full 3 minutes (and a full vote!) before being messaged by kermit. Also, from what I recall of the logs, you did not comply, if you'd even had the chance. There wasn't any "intentional misleading," going on. You were the last person messaged in the group.

First of all, there's no dirty tricks designed to give out warnings happening here. The only presumption is one easily made, when you're in OOC trying to get people to vote meteor, that you are also voting meteor, which you were in fact doing, so this entire "you didn't actually know" thing is quite ridiculous. Secondly, when a member of staff says to not do something, do not do it. Kermit said in OOC to stop meme voting meteor before the final vote even started, well before you were finally bwoinked about it. Your response was to call them the 'fun police' and then vote for meteor again anyway. This is really nothing more than a case of 'play stupid games, win stupid prizes.' The entire server was told not to do something, you did it and got warned. I see no issue with that. The rest of this complaint about numbers of voting people and server pop is irrelevant. If there's nothing else, this will be locked in 24 hours.

I'll be handling this.

Try again, should be good now

Solarian Popular Democratic Party and Communist Party Announce PM Candidates Article 4 of WINNER TAKES ALL: The '67 Solarian Federal Elections UNITY STATION, EARTH – This afternoon (GST), the remaining two parties announced their candidates for Prime Minister in the upcoming election. Both the Solarian Popular Democratic Party and the Communist Party of the Alliance of Sovereign Solarian Nations announced their respective candidates at their conventions, though both are seen as having little chance of winning. The Solarian Popular Democratic Party announced Callistean Senator Anastaise Renaud as their nominee for Prime Minister. Senator Renaud, a popular senator from Callisto, gained many supporters within her own party for her response to the local Naval garrison’s violent dispersal of a protest calling for intervention in the Northern Wildlands. Among Renaud’s many promises during her acceptance speech were to fight for the workers of the Alliance against corporate influence, expand assistance to the Reconstruction Mandates, and re-establish the Alliance diplomatically with the Spur. The Communist Party announced its candidate as Kliment Pavlov, an influential planetary politician from Pluto. Among the party’s many goals are the expansion of social programs, nationalization of many corporate assets, and significant reform of the central government. Further Reading: San Colette national ice hockey team stuns Pluto in Olympic knockout stages Today in History: The Boston Tea Party ‘Boat Chicken’ Incident Injures 7 in Helios City

Sol First Party Announces Candidate for ‘67 PM Elections! Article 3 of the Winner Take All arc The camera, following the typical SANN jingle, zooms in on the always stern Harold MacMillan. “Welcome back to The State of Sol. This evening we will be visiting Harmony City, Luna, where the Sol First Party is expected to announce its candidate in short order. We go now to the AESCO-L Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics, where our reporter, Céline Eylenbosch, is waiting. Céline?” The screen splits, with one half containing MacMillan, and the other, a blonde and quite obviously Cytherean, woman. “Hello, dear viewers! We’re here in the lovely Aldrin Auditorium, where the Sol First Party is going to be announcing their candidate after quite the process. Everyone’s ready to see their candidate for the first time.” “Any predictions?” “The frontrunner seems to be Senator Toshiyuki Sumida, who’s from this district of Harmony City. There are a few darkhorse candidates, but they aren’t likely to surprise us tonight. Oh! It’s time for the announcement.” “Fellow Solarians,” a voice booms over a speaker, prompting a camera switch to one showing the stage, “Please welcome the next Prime Minister of the Solarian Alliance, Toshiyuki Sumida!” Confetti fires from cannons as a middle-aged Lunan man enters the stage, smiling and waving at the assembled crowd. The crowd erupts into cheers, which Sumida amplifies by waving his arms upwards in a pump-up motion as he reaches the podium. After taking in the crowd, he waves for quiet, which the crowd eventually gives him. “My fellow Solarians,” Sumida begins, “The last several years have tried our Alliance, but we have come out of the darkness strong! We must seize this opportunity to put the priority on us first!” Sumida pauses as the cheers grow again, waiting a few moments for them to die down. “The Sol First Party will put our needs as a nation, and your needs from the government, first. We must focus on restoring the planets in the Reconstruction Mandates, and rebuilding ourselves! We must defend our borders and every citizen, whilst avoiding foreign entanglements that seek to drag us down!” More cheering erupts from the crowd. “If I’m elected Prime Minister, we will bring in a new era of the Alliance that puts our nation before everything else!” “I will protect us from foreign corporate interests, and put our own first! Together, we will lead the Alliance back to glory! Thank you all!” Sumida throws his hands up and the crowd goes wild, while he continues to stand at the podium and enjoy the reception, before the commercial break interrupts the scene.

@Jasorn and I will be handling this

BREAKING: NDF Brings Crisis to an End Article 25 of Dulce et Decorum The camera returns to Katarzyna Bołądź, who for the first time in a few days, seems relieved. The scene behind her features soldiers and police milling about, but without the blockade previously seen. Atop the building again flies the flag of the Southern Reconstruction Mandate and the flag of Visegrad. “Welcome back. In the preceding hour, we’ve seen, and been told from official sources, the National Defense Force successfully bring this crisis to a swift and dramatic end. For those just joining us, we were broadcasting live as the assault started just about forty-five minutes before the deadline set by the insurgents. What followed was captured live on-air.” The camera cuts to a replay of the scene, jumping in just as black-clad figures rappelled onto a second-story balcony. The group floods into the opening from the blast that had just occurred, and gunfire is audible. The camera pans right and a second group is entering from a second balcony. To the left, the doors are thrown open, and a disheveled figure in a suit emerges with their hands raised. One of the figures helps him over to the balcony with the soldiers, who then move inside the building. A group of soldiers advance from the barricades and deploy a ladder for the civilian, who quickly climbs down it. “You’ve just watched the dramatic escape of one of the hostages as the NDF raid on the building began. Official reports have stated that there were fifteen terrorists inside. All have been neutralized, with five of them being in custody. Reportedly, one of the surviving terrorists hid among the hostages and attempted to produce a grenade when confronted, but was quickly overpowered. The gunfire inside the building lasted for a good ten to fifteen minutes before the all-clear was given.” Katarzyna nods to someone off camera, and is then joined by a man in a National Defense Force field uniform, his rank insignia identifying him as a colonel. Name tape on his right breast pocket reads ‘ABETZ.’ “Joining us now is Colonel Warner Abetz, the commanding officer of the unit responsible for this daring raid. Colonel, thank you for joining us.” “Of course. I come with good news as well, we have confirmed that all hostages held by the terrorists have been rescued alive. Around a dozen had some minor injuries, but our men were successful in preventing any killing.” “That’s fantastic news! Were there any casualties for your unit?” He shakes his head, “There were a few men wounded, but nothing serious. I cannot stress enough how expertly this was carried out.” “Speaking of, how long was this in the works, and how did you manage to keep things under wraps? We did not know anyone was near the building until we witnessed the beginning stages.” “I can’t comment on specific details, but within hours of this crisis beginning we began drafting plans for alternative resolutions, should a peaceful approach not be successful. Many men and women were involved, ranging from other units of the NDF to SISA agents, and they all gave their best to get to this outcome and bring these terrorists to justice without further loss of innocent life.” “Well, we thank you for your time and efforts here, Colonel. Reporting live from Fellegvar, I’m Katarzyna Bołądź, we’ll be right back.”

LIVE: Secessionist Deadline Approaches Article 24 of Dulce et Decorum The camera opens to Katarzyna Bołądź, who seemingly has had little sleep, standing in front of the besieged building. Behind her remain the same lineup of police and NDF vehicles, albeit with only soldiers in NDF uniforms being visible. A tent stands just to the right of the background, with individuals in jackets emblazoned with SISA in Solarian Common milling about. One is talking on what appears to be a secure phone with a group standing around them. “Good evening, we are now just under an hour away from the deadline set by the secessionist insurgents. Negotiations appear to still be ongoing,” she motions to the tent behind her, “but we have been told they have become much more difficult since Szalai’s news conference yesterday afternoon. Her noncommittal answer on whether or not she was willing to step down, sources say, incensed the secessionists, and negotiators have frantically been attempting to secure a deadline extension in the preceding hours. To make matters worse, when the group’s manifesto was broadcast on local news channels overnight, it was done in a truncated and garbled manner, further angering them.” The camera pans right and zooms on the tent, as whatever conversation has been happening has appeared to intensify. Katarzyna waves the cameraman forward, and begins approaching the tent, but is quickly stopped by one of the jacketed SISA agents. “Right– agent, can you tell us what’s happening now? We’ve seen no evidence of preparations for an assault, has the government elected to meet any of the demands?” The agent, clearly trying to prevent the reporters from getting any closer, begins leading them away while he answers their questions in a Lunan accent. “I can tell you that we are still working to secure an extension and the release of more hostages, but I cannot comment on what demands we are and are not willing to meet. It’s been made clear to the insurgents what will happen if they were to begin killing hostages.” “So am I to understand that there have been preparations made for-” Two loud bangs interrupt the reporter, whose head whips towards the building. The camera quickly pans to the source of at least one bang: a second-floor balcony overlooking the entrance to the building, where figures clad in black are rappelling down from the roof and entering through a fresh opening where a door once stood. More bangs are heard, and gunfire begins to ring out while the camera continues to roll.

Closing this due to significant away site involvement.

Hostage Crisis Continues, Szalai Pressed on Demands Article 23 of Dulce et Decorum The camera opens to Fleet Admiral Klaudia Szalai behind a podium, flanked by two men: one in a business suit, who some may recognize as Public Security Minister Mariusz Kovacs; the other, in the uniform of the National Defense Force, Commandant Willerich Kozak. Notably Szalai herself is not wearing her typical Solarian Navy uniform, but instead a business suit. “Good afternoon,” she begins, “I have an update on the ongoing situation just down the street. There has been more progress in negotiations, and SISA negotiators have managed to secure the release of a further seven hostages, the last of those who were seriously wounded in the assault by the secessionist insurgents. This includes the two missing Solarian Army personnel who had been assigned to protect the office. Negotiators are still working around the clock to bring this to a peaceful resolution.” Seemingly done, a bevy of hands shoot up in the packed room. Szalai nods at one. “Alojzy Kalinowski, Visegrad News Network. Governor, with the deadline set by the insurgents now under 24 hours away, has there been any movement on their demands or perhaps an extension?” “SISA’s negotiators have been in constant contact with them and we have made it clear that any sort of prisoner release will take time. Currently there has been no extension, but the second release of wounded hostages is certainly a step in the right direction.” Hands shoot up again, and Szalai points at another, who stands. “Liao Qi, Xanu News Service. Governor, by all accounts there’s still at least fifty hostages in the building, is there any word on their condition?” “From what we have been told from negotiators, as well as the released hostages, the condition of those inside the building is good, and they are in good spirits, despite their situation.” “With such a large number of hostages, are you worried if you’re forced to act as the deadline approaches?” “I’m not going to go into detail on contingency plans, but suffice to say, we would prioritize the safety of the hostages first.” Again, the hands go up, and Szalai nods at another, who stands. “Andrea Wu, Tau Ceti Times. Governor, the biggest demand from the secessionist group is for your resignation. Is that something you are prepared to do?” Szalai, who had already been viewing the Biesillite suspiciously, looked as if she wanted to strangle the reporter as she responded, “I’m not even going to entertain your question, it is an unreasonable demand.” “So you are saying that you will not step down under any circumstances?” “I am saying I will be saying nothing more about the matter. That’s all I have time for.” Szalai and the group exit the stage, her final two responses seemingly having kicked off even more questions from the assembled group.

SISA Negotiators Arrive, Secessionists Release Some Hostages Article 22 of Dulce et Decorum FELLEGVAR, VISEGRAD – The Solarian Interstellar Security Agency has announced that as of 2AM (GST), negotiators from the SISA field office located on Visegrad had arrived at the site of the ongoing hostage crisis in the government quarter. They began work with the secessionist group located within immediately upon arrival, with a secure line having been set up in the preceding hours. While the agency has refused to comment on the specifics of the negotiations so far, it has commended the progress made. Five hostages that have been reported to have “serious wounds,” have been released by the secessionists for medical treatment, in exchange for their manifesto being aired on all local news networks. They have all been identified as civilian government employees who were wounded in the initial assault. One has been released from the hospital, while the rest remain in care. With 12 hours having passed since the initial demands were made, more information has been coming out regarding the situation. The released hostages and video footage indicates that over a dozen secessionists are inside the building. Estimates put the number of hostages currently held by the group over sixty. Additionally, the names of the four Solarian Army soldiers who were killed have been released - all were native Visegradis. External CCTV footage has revealed the initial shocking moments of the assault, as well as interviews with the released hostages. “It all happened so fast,” said Stanislaw Dvořák, one of the released hostages, “We were sitting down for a meeting when suddenly we heard gunshots, explosions- followed by at least a dozen armed men screaming. I was shot in the crossfire, in the leg. The doctors said I was lucky though I don’t feel it. I just hope everyone else gets out alive.” When asked for comment on the crisis, Fleet Admiral Szalai’s office said, “The Fleet Admiral is monitoring the situation closely and working around the clock to bring this to an end. At this time the Admiral has no plans to step aside nor release dangerous traitors to the Alliance back into the streets for them to continue their previous work.”

BREAKING: Southern Reconstruction Mandate Building Overtaken Article 21 of Dulce et Decorum The commercial break of a foreign news segment is abruptly interrupted and the words ‘BREAKING NEWS’ flash on the screen, swiping away to reveal Harold MacMillan. “We interrupt our foreign news hour to bring you this breaking story out of Visegrad. Within the last half hour, an unknown group has assaulted and successfully taken over a Southern Reconstruction Mandate administration building in the heart of Fellegvar. We now go live to our local correspondent, Katarzyna Bołądź, who is on the scene.” The camera cuts to a Katarzyna, a woman with short brunette hair, and wearing a rain jacket emblazoned with what appears to be lettering in Visegradi Creole. Behind her is a fairly nondescript government office, with a Southern Reconstruction Mandate flag flying overhead and a Visegradi flag underneath it. In front of the building is a significant number of police vehicles and NDF vehicles, all with soldiers and police behind them, focusing on the building. “Thank you Harold. Around thirty minutes ago, gunshots rang out at this service center, which is right down the road from the main government offices. There’s no official reports yet on how many people are inside, nor who is responsible for the attack, however we can confirm a few deaths – four Solarian Army soldiers assigned to the building were killed, with another few missing. The on-site commander–” Katarzyna is interrupted by shouting behind her and turns to face the building. The camera zooms in on the flag pole atop the building, and watches as the flags are slowly lowered beyond visibility. After a few moments with no movement, a new flag begins to rise - a plain Visegradi flag with a white star in the center-left triangle. A gasp could be heard from Katarzyna, “That’s– that’s the flag of the-” She is again interrupted by shouting, but this time from a speaker system. “We are liberators fighting for the freedom of the people of Visegrad from the Alliance! Know that we have many civilians under our control inside! If you wish for them to not be harmed, you will release all secessionist freedom fighters. The oppressor Szalai will step down at once. You have 72 hours to meet these demands, or we will begin killing the collaborators we hold!” Katarzyna turns to face the camera, concern evident on her face. “Well, we’ve now had many questions answered, namely that the Secessionists are responsible for this attack. We will keep following this as it develops. Back to you, Harold.”

TCAF Officer: "We can handle anything the Alliance throws at us." Article 19 of Dulce et Decorum A central concern for many within the Republic is its own protection. Throughout the history of the young nation, it has faced countless threats, including two invasions. The Tau Ceti Armed Forces, the successor to the original Foreign Legion, is young and rife with issues, according to critics. Supporters of the armed forces in their current state warn that critics are being alarmist. “Those that say the armed forces are weak, ineffective, anything of the sort, are foolishly spreading Solarian propaganda,” says Major Szek Skret’ash, a battalion executive officer in the Minutemen, “the fact of the matter is this: we can handle anything the Alliance throws at us. We’ve done it before, and we will do it again.” While one can hardly be surprised at the attitude of an active-duty officer, we pressed the major on some of the issues mentioned by retired Colonel Jan Krzystof - over reliance on the Zoleth line, a fleet plagued by a slew of issues, and the inexperience of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces. “The armed forces are constantly training, constantly getting better. To say they are inexperienced is simply misinformation. We have suppressed the insurrection on Mictlan, we fight off pirates, and we have many in the service who have fought the Solarians before, even when they fought amongst themselves. There is no doubt in my mind we would have total victory.” Major Skret’ash’s gung-ho attitude is not uncommon in the Minutemen, especially among the branch’s many immigrants. It’s not a widely-held attitude in the other branches, who face many issues that the Minutemen have the funding to avoid. Attitude or not though, the armed forces have challenges to resolve before they are without significant criticism.