Sir, – How ironic and unfortunate that in his otherwise excellent article on the recent report of the Independent Review Group into the abuse of women in the Defence Forces, Fintan O’Toole uses the phrase “rough soldiery” when describing soldiers who are not commissioned officers (“Irish Army’s culture of misogyny is a disgrace and must end here”, Opinion & Analysis, April 4th).
From the moment I enlisted in the Defence Forces in the late 1970s, it became apparent that the officer class invariably held other ranks in low regard, believing them to be uneducated, unrefined and incapable of independent thinking and decision-making.
In other words, they saw anyone who had not attended the Military College in the Curragh as belonging to an uncouth, rough soldiery.
Over the following two decades I happily served alongside non-commissioned officers and private soldiers who, though rarely college educated – and mostly from working class backgrounds – were the antithesis of “rough soldiery”. In the main, they were the finest people I have had the good fortune to know.
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While “rough soldiery” may have been used tongue-in- cheek by Mr O’Toole, he – more than most people – will be aware of the importance of language, especially its ability to drive change.
The next time he is searching for a word or phrase to describe non-commissioned officers and privates, the simple term “other ranks” would be a marked improvement. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN NUGENT,
Madeira,
Portugal.
