Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Missouri National Guards looted a Wal-Mart while searching for tornado survivors

A general once told me that a small but significant percentage of soldiers in any unit are criminals at heart, and that one job of small unit leaders is to prevent them from spreading the rot to other members of the unit. I thought of that when I read this article revealing that a sergeant ...

Wikimedia
Wikimedia
Wikimedia

A general once told me that a small but significant percentage of soldiers in any unit are criminals at heart, and that one job of small unit leaders is to prevent them from spreading the rot to other members of the unit.

A general once told me that a small but significant percentage of soldiers in any unit are criminals at heart, and that one job of small unit leaders is to prevent them from spreading the rot to other members of the unit.

I thought of that when I read this article revealing that a sergeant and three other members of the National Guard pocketed some electronic gear at Wal-Mart in Joplin, Missouri, when sent there to provide aid after part of the town was smashed by a huge tornado May in 2011.  

Speaking of criminal activity, the former command master chief of the USS Fort McHenry was sentenced to 60 days in the brig for assaulting crew members. He also supposedly has some issues with pawing the buttocks of female sailors.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.