Replying to a message of Richard Webb to Bob Klahn:

 RW> Hi BOb,

 RW> On Wed 2037-Jan-28 20:26, Bob Klahn (1:124/311) wrote to Richard Webb:

 RW>> And pretty much everybody had deniability, except for the
 RW>> flunkies at the lower end of the food chain, business as
 RW>> usual, another day, another dollar.  HO hum, next channel.

 BK>>  Whenever I hear about the leaders having deniability I remember  the
 BK>> Japanese Admiral we executed after WW2. He claimed he did  not know
 BK>> about the massacre in Manila. We said it was his duty  to know.

 RW> OF course it was, and that's what you'd think now, except
 RW> ...

Back when I was in the service the rule was 'you can delegate the authority,
you *cannot* delegate the responsibility.'  Apparently that rule went out
the window some time ago...

When I was in basic training - actually I'd completed basic training and was
awaiting orders to school - MSgt Johnson, the unit's senior training NCO, 
was about to visit one of the barracks at about 1730 one afternoon.  He'd just
handed his ID through the screen to the barracks guard when a troop came down
the stairs behind the guard bleeding like a stuck pig.  Sgt Johnson was through 
that door and up the stairs before the guard knew what happened.  Seems that
the dorm chief and 3 of the 4 squad leaders (all appointed by the TI, and usually
the five biggest members of the group) were extorting money from the rest
of the guys in the flight and beating the living sh*t out of anybody that didn't
pay up - the TIs had already left for the day.  Well, Sgt Johnson sent somebody
to the orderly room to call the cops and notify the first sergeant and commander
and the sh*t hit the fan.  The dorm chief, 3 squad leaders and both TIs were all
court martialled, even though the TIs were blissfully unaware of what was going
on.  The entire flight had their orders cancelled and were held over as witnesses
for the courts martial, they were still there when I got my orders and shipped out.

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