DECLINING MILITARY CULTURE OF THE PNGDF

The culture of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force has changed over recent decades since independence and since the localization of the force reached its critical tipping point.

DECLINE OF THE PAPUA NEW GUINEA DEFENCE FORCE

It is not the fault of any one Government or individual but a matter of the prevailing culture and economic conditions.

The PNGDF was formed by the Australian Defence Force and inherited the Australian military culture that had been passed on by the British military culture. There were major differences in the British and Australian military cultures based largely on class.

The early British command consisted of officers who were upper class. Lord Ponsonby was also a Colonel. Many junior officers were rising middle class while the soldiers were working class.

The discipline of the soldiers was not in the hands of the officers. Authority was vested in the Regimental Sergeant Major who was the right hand man to the Commanding Officer.

A good RSM was more important than an average officer, a reality that dawned on most officers when they found that the Commanding Officer took the side of the RSM in any dispute between officer and RSM.

The erring officer would quietly be told the facts of life when the RSM had gone back to his duties. Not in front of the troops. An RSM in the Australian Army was paid a salary equivalent to a captain.

The RSM kept discipline of the troops. He was in charge of the warrant officers. In the British Army it was a class thing. Working class controlled working class. Officers stayed above the control of working class soldiers.

But the system changed in the Australian Defence Force when all soldiers were working or middle class. The difference between officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers was a matter of education. Officers generally had education except those promoted from the ranks.

The position of the RSM was based on his control of the troops. It was a subtle arrangement between RSM and officers. He called the officers sir.

But he was in some ways in control of the officers, from the point of view of discipline of troops. He had the right of direct access to the Commanding Officer.

A complaint from the RSM to the Commanding Officer was generally heeded, much to the shock of junior officer who had been respectfully saluted by the RSM and asked if he would be so kind as to get a haircut soon, sir.

The relationship between an RSM and an officer should be one of utmost respect. A senior RSM may have sons who are older than the junior officer he is calling sir. A wise young officer will understand that.

But the military culture of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force has changed the prevailing system again. There is no class system as in the British Army.

The PNGDF is more like the Australian Army with the levels of education, even though the levels of soldiers have at times been higher.

It is the overwhelming wantok system that has dragged the PNGDF down. But that is quite unavoidable. The RSM is no longer what he was in the Australian Army.

In the PNGDF, he runs the risk of being just another wantok. The position of the RSM may at times have been undermined by the officers.

The RSM will miss out on his pension just like every other officer, non-commissioned officer and soldier. He is just one of the boys at the mercy of civilians controlling the PNGDF.

The last retired RSM walks around the streets in shabby clothes and beard with no money in his pockets.

In early times in the PNGDF, the RSM would control the comings and goings of civilians in the married quarter patch.

A person needed a letter from the RSM given to the serving member if he wanted to get in the gate. Now the housing situation probably means that the quarter of the RSM is crowded with wantoks too. What is a letter from the RSM worth these days?

There has been an ethic in the British and Australian armies that the officers look to the welfare of the soldiers first. The Lord of the manor looked after his peasant tenants.

The last vestige of this custom remains with the traditional Christmas dinner for the troops served by their officers. Is the RSM serving or served?

It did not stop the officers of the British Army from sending thousands of working class soldiers to their deaths in battle. But the prevailing ethic in the PNGDF is that the big man is fed first.

The PNGDF has lost the sharpness of its discipline. Many officers are not leaders. But the RSM may not be a leader of men too. Day to day discipline has been lost.

The Chief Warrant Officer will never get an overseas posting with the UN. Rank has its privileges. That is the benefit of being an officer.

A major difference between the PNGDF and the Australian Army lay in the formula for recruiting. There was a quota for recruiting province by province based on population. This was to prevent any one province from dominating the recruitment.

An applicant had to apply from the province of birth. That has to provide difficulties when young men and women have lived in Port Moresby all their lives.

Further difficulties come when the person is Sepik-mix-Morobe or Milne Bay-mix-Buka. There is the occasional letter to the editor of a failed applicant crying over discrimination of the recruiting officer.

Murphy’s Law states that any system that allows lawful discrimination will soon be used for unlawful discrimination. We read that the military is a means of social mobility. The black Americans have lifted their place in society partly through careers in the military.

It is debatable as to whether or not the same applies to entry into the PNGDF. Dying for one’s country as a PNGDF soldier may well be overshadowed by the fear that his widow will not get  his pension. It all comes down to family.

Bruce Copeland

Major (Australian Army retired)

AIDS Holistics