Retired Military Media Analysts Gates Essay

Although former soldiers might assert that they are being objective because they are using their past experiences to support their assessments, viewers have the right to know what might influence former soldiers' perception of military evidence. This is particularly important in dealing with military speakers, because often a military title and a uniform, even of a retired officer, can cause a viewer to stand a little taller, and feel unpatriotic discounting the officer's testimony. A casual television viewer might assume the officer is reporting directly about what he or she has seen of troops in the field -- not balance sheets in a contractor's office. While Gates, as Secretary of Defense, clearly respects the men and women who have served the nation, he notes: "when they [former officers] are referred to by their title, the public doesn't know whether they are active duty or retired officers because those distinctions tend to get blurred" in a five-minute segment on television.

The Pentagon protested Gates' comments, stating that despite the fact that these men and women were retired military officers, the retirees were still entitled to special briefings and talking points to which ordinary civilians were not privy, giving the former soldiers' points-of-view extra credibility. Moreover, the Pentagon bristled at questions regarding these contractors' objectivity, stressing that the public was intelligent enough to ferret out any biases. But given that even ABC must identify that it is affiliated with the Disney Company when it reports on that corporation, and other experts are often clearly labeled, regarding whom they represent in a running television feed, there seems little justification to exempt former officers from similar treatment. Even if the officer's advice may be sound, and their contractor status does not invalidate the information they are giving entirely, the public has the right to know that the opinion they are hearing is not the same perspective as that of a currently enlisted individual. To refuse to identify retired members of the armed forces working as contractors is an injustice to the men and women currently serving in the military, who might disagree with the retirees' interpretations.

Reference

Gates urges greater clarity by military media analysts. (2008, April 21). Space Daily.

Retrieved January 31, 2010 at http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Gates_urges_greater_clarity_by_military_media_analysts_999.html