Traditions: just add spin

Barely a month ago Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon decides to abrogate defence responsibility and stand the navy down for two months over summer as a means of retaining sailors and already Debbie Guest, a journalist with The Australian cites it as ‘traditional’ In an article about the Navy rescuing a yachtsman south west of Albany, WA the stand down becomes traditional with the Government approved rider indicating the public shouldn’t be alarmed – national security is OK.

The naval operation came during the defence force’s traditional two-month stand-down over the Christmas period, although this does not have any affect on national security or the force’s ability to respond to emergencies.

In my time traditions took decades or generational change to be formed and accepted – now it just takes government spin. As an aside we irreverent Infantrymen used to say; the Navy had traditions, the Army customs and the RAAF, habits.