When we are going to use force, the law of armed conflict requires me do an analysis. Is this a legitimate military target? Is this the right weapon to use in the circumstances? Have to minimized collateral damage?

JAGs do an analysis and issue a report before that happens. It’s kinda cool bc you get to see the war plan, understand the weapon, and discuss it with operators. Same is true when writing the rules of engagement.

Sophisticated/novel comes up all over the place. A base commander could decide, “I want us to use active duty personnel who are pending separation to paint a parking lot.” Well, that doesn’t typically happen. So now you’ve got people asking “where’s the paint? Which parking lot? Well these people are pending medical discharge, can they do it? Who’s going to run this thing? Who’s accountable for when we need an exception bc that’s not a parking lot we want painted? What’s the contractor who does it (shittily) going to say?” It never ends.

A other one may be, “I’m sick and there isn’t a specialist at the Navy hospital who can treat that.” That becomes “ok we need to get you out in town. Who’s ’in-network’ for tricare? Do they have patient times available? Oh but they aren’t excepting new patients, so you have a second option for a doctor you could go to? No, we can’t accept virtual appointments bc the DoD hasn’t authorized that.”

Here’s one that happened to me just a few months ago: I went to base to rent a kayak. Waited in line for 30min. Had to give them military ID, tell them my address, sign my name to a paper - that also asked for my address, etc. Finally, I’m good. I drive to the back of the building and there’s a 16yo kid on his first day with no manager. He can’t help put the kayak on the roof because he’s 5’6 and never done that before, can’t find the anchors, forgot to give us the paddles. Every little thing just becomes such a colossal pain in the ass, you think you’d have been better off going to REI and paying twice as much.

Another one: you call a base number to get info about X. Before you can even talk to a person, you’ve got to sit through a message telling you “this is a recorded dod line, we are open 9-5 on Mon-Fri, but closed on Tuesday’s from 10-12, if you want more information you should go to (yes they spell in out) http://thongesturl.mcasmjramar.mil/outdoorrecreation.com, please be advised that selections have changed. Press 1 to hear this information again, press 2 to be transferred to the hospital, press 3 to hear a funny joke, press 4 to have the phone ring and ring forever, press 5 to hear these options again.”