The officer corps: material privileges continue even after death

War criminal honored by the U.S. government

By James Circello

The author is a member of March Forward!, an organization of veterans and service members who stand against war and racism.

On May 13, Brigadier General David Baker was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Baker, who had participated in combat missions during the Vietnam War, was shot down over Cambodia. After being held as a prisoner of war in Cambodia for eight months due to the covert and illegal bombing campaign in Cambodia—bombing that indiscriminately killed upwards of 600,000 Cambodians—Baker was released in a prisoner exchange.

Upon his release, Baker continued his career with the U.S. Air Force, becoming the only Vietnam-era POW to fly combat missions over Iraq during the Gulf War. Retired Major General Douglas Shepperd eulogized Baker at Arlington’s Old Post Chapel calling him “A good husband, a good father, brother and friend.”

According to Newsday, Shepperd said, “One of the most enduring images of the Gulf War—the burned-out Iraqi tanks and other military vehicles that littered the road leading back to Baghdad—had been created by the deadly handiwork of fighter pilots flying under Baker’s command.”

This “deadly handiwork” destroyed nearly 3,000 retreating military and civilian vehicles during two days of air strikes. The “Mile of Death,” or “Highway of Death,” as it has since been called, occurred two days after the war was officially halted by an American ceasefire. This war crime, which involved the use of disproportionate force to strafe and bomb civilians and refugees, is what Shepperd chose to eulogize Baker with.

March Forward! has no intention of criticizing Baker on his qualities as a husband, father, brother or friend, but we cannot look away while the United States spends thousands of our tax dollars to honor a habitual war criminal solely based on his class status within the military.

The nature of the officer class

The officer class, consisting of commissioned officers and warrant officers, is the only class—without exception—whose members are entitled to “full military honors.”

In war, the enlisted class of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are engaged in the majority of the fighting—which means they do nearly all the killing, dying and suffering. When the enlisted women and men return home, they are caught in a bureaucratic maze of red tape while trying to fight for their benefits within the Veterans Affairs system. And after a life of struggle, when death finally arrives, the enlisted find themselves laid to rest in a barebones funeral ceremony in which full military honors are not received.

Life in the officer class is completely different. The officer enjoys a life of luxury, not only before joining the military, but during both times of war and times of relative “peace.” The officer generally sees little of the fighting and is not formally restricted to the rear during a combat situation but is usually found there—this having to do with the idea that the unit “needs” its officers for tactical purposes and that their lives should be preserved at all costs.

On returning home, the officer returns to a life even more luxurious than previously experienced—which for the most part allows the individual to decide between the headaches associated with VA hospitals or private health insurance. When the officer’s life comes to an end, full military honors are unquestionably given, based solely on the officer’s class status within the military.

Until January of this year, the U.S. government’s policy towards the right to a full military honors burial was reserved for the officer class and those highest enlisted personnel who reached the rank of E-9. A new policy exists that “allows” the enlisted class—the workers in uniform who do the vast majority of fighting, dying and suffering—to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors.

Neither of these policies affected Brigadier General David Baker’s funeral. As a member of the officer class, Baker was given a full honors’ burial—no questions asked. The enlisted who make up the majority of the thousands that have died fighting the present wave of criminal wars—as well as a majority of those suffering through PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and suicidal tendencies, lack of work, education and housing—are simply thrown out and forgotten. Only when it helps a politician is there any discussion of addressing the issues that face the enlisted class in the military.

The existing material privileges of the officer class

Baker’s funeral was attended by more than 200 people who followed the horse-drawn caisson that carried the general and his flag-draped coffin through the cemetery where he was buried. Among many of the other honors that were given to Baker included a “missing man formation” flown by F-15 fighter jets. According to Newsday, F-15s had been Baker’s “favorite military planes.”

The contradiction of material privileges cannot be more apparent when we look at the enlisted class and the “standard” honors that are given to them when they die. Basic enough, the enlisted woman or man is given a casket party—to carry the coffin, a firing party—to fire a three-round volley, and a bugler—to play “Taps” as the body is about to be lowered into its grave.

Even the right to a bugler is debatable. According to CeremonialBugle.com—the website of the company that makes the “Ceremonial Bugle,” a device which fits inside the bell of a traditional bugle and plays an electronically recorded version of “Taps”—the Ceremonial Bugle is “a dignified method of playing Taps at a military funeral when a live bugler is not available for military funeral ceremonies. It was developed in order to provide a solemn visual image and as an alternative to the playing of a recorded version of Taps on a CD/cassette player.” The ceremonial bugle came about from a law passed by Congress in 2000, allowing a recorded version of “Taps” to be performed, due to a “shortage” of buglers.

The officer class never has to worry about a shortage of buglers to play “Taps,” horses to pull their caissons, individuals to fire rifle volleys, bands to perform, F-15s to fly over their funerals or any other request.

March Forward! demands an end to the existing officer corps. Officers should no longer enjoy special privileges, when it is the men and women of the enlisted class that do all of the dying. Furthermore, March Forward! demands the immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the globe. These are imperialist wars for domination and so do not serve the interests of the enlisted class and all workers around the world.

This is not our war!
MarchForward.org