"Scotland's Vietnam"

On Tuesday, NPR's "All Things Considered" did a piece on a play from Scotland called "The Black Watch." The title refers to a very old regiment of the British Army, and the plot centers around soldiers of the Black Watch. The 42nd Reigment of Foot (Royal Highland/Black Watch) have been in almost every major scrape the Brits have encountered for the last 300 years, most notably, Waterloo, and most recently, Iraq.

The interview with the writer of the play is fascinating, and the sound clips from the actors are entertaining. One comment struck me, though. The writer regards Iraq as "Scotland's Vietnam" in terms of the damage done to soldiers and to the relationship between the public in Scotland and its army. Regiments such as the Black Watch don't fight for Queen and Country, they actually join the army to fight for their village/town/city. The Iraq war is putting the same sort of squeeze on recruiting that's experienced in the States on the British army, and that's forcing them to consolidate regiments. Since the "village identity" of the consolidated regiments is diluted, that makes recruiting all the more difficult.

Fascinating unforseen consequences.

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