Am I evil?

[tinpants]

Originally Posted by huge

No

But IMHO you were on the wrong side.

And this is not a clear cut issue. You were a SADF conscript, but you did have choices.

For the record I did not like the way SWAPO conducted themselves. The ANC made big mistakes too.

I think I'm right in saying this, and I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm not, but Robert Mugabe, Idi Amin, Nelson Mandela, Joshua Nkomo were
all terrorists. Plain and simple.

By the way, Burner, be proud of the things you achieved. Like staying alive. ZIPRA, ZANU, SWAPO and Frelimo committed more atrocities than any SADF patrol. HTH?

Mmmm...what choices does a conscript have?

Jail or military service?

I say only you know what you did and what you saw.
Just don't ask for redemption from a motorcycle internet forum

Burner,
I dont think you need to redeem or explain yourself to anyone on this forum or anywhere for that matter. You did what you felt you had to at the time same as huge did. I may not agree with what the old govt. did or what they stood for but I do believe that the country, even though heavily sanctioned by the outside world at the time, did a shed load more than any govt in SA over the last ten years... Having spent a fair amount of time back there this year after being away for five years, I can honestly say that my dog would make a better leader! Many say that we are running away from the problems back in SA but I disagree. All I want is a better future for myself and my family and I believe that I can do that a lot better here than I ever could in SA.

*Rant ends here*

I used to have the whole national service thing on my CV. I thought it explained what I'd done for those 2 years and maybe that military service of any kind develops a bit of character that prospective employers would be looking for.
Not so, I was advised by an agency to drop it from my resume and only mention it if asked directly.
So I took it out and got a job within 2 weeks. Which makes me think that particular agency wasn't putting my CV forward. Or was I just paranoid?

Originally Posted by BURNER

Or was I just paranoid?

Maybe there's truth in the saying that too much sun and sand isn't good for you...

Remember, "History is written by the victors" - Winston Churchill

Originally Posted by BURNER

I used to have the whole national service thing on my CV. I thought it explained what I'd done for those 2 years and maybe that military service of any kind develops a bit of character that prospective employers would be looking for.
Not so, I was advised by an agency to drop it from my resume and only mention it if asked directly.
So I took it out and got a job within 2 weeks. Which makes me think that particular agency wasn't putting my CV forward. Or was I just paranoid?

Hmm, I wonder if you had chosen the jail option would they say 'keep that off your CV, it looks bad'?

FWIW Burner, after reading some of the debate on this subject posted here, i still don't feel it's right to judge you from what little we know of the truth. Being involved and having an opinion is much harder than observing and having one.

Originally Posted by Mr Toad

Remember, "History is written by the victors" - Winston Churchill

I know, I visited the Johannesburg war Museum around 1999 and couldn't believe the stuff they had up. A whole wall about the End Conscription Campaign, a wing of the ANC and UDF. Almost nothing about the SWA and Angolan operations.
I might have flipped out a bit at some of the crappola I read on other exhibits, especially how they glamourised the exploits of the MK cadres.
I might even have been asked to leave before they called the cops.


They have a top condition ME-262 there. the only night fighter version left in existence.

http://www.militarymuseum.co.za/welcome.html
No decent pics on their shoddy website, I have found one tho.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

I think it must be accepted that in any conflict there will be wrong on all sides.

Just so long as you can have a clear conscience, knowing that how you conducted yourself was decent and proper, then no, you're not evil.

But as said above, it's not our place to know, it's not possible for anyone but you to truly decide whether that's the case.

Originally Posted by BURNER

I've said it before and I'll say it again...You can't beat a nice Me-262
Two seater...radar equipped...30mm cannon...500+mph...

I'm not exactly sure what it doing here because the 262 never served with the SAAF...but hey ho...

To be honest, you seemed to have thrived and survived in a world that most people wouldn't last 5 minutes. Now, that is something to be proud of.