The Policewoman and the Troublemaker
The following is made possible by the team behind Breaking Brainwashed. It was written by Htun Zaw Myat, a former Navy officer:
Ah, so let me tell you a tale of the time I was stationed at the headquarters in Hein Ze, Dawei. It was a peaceful place, with nearby villages like Kadaik, Thae Chaung, and Ohn Pin Kwin. But that all changed when the army staged a coup.
We soldiers were on high alert, with fire drills and battle drills every day. At first, it was just patrols around the base. But as protests increased and security concerns grew, we were ordered to stand guard at the residential area alongside policewomen.
We were all armed with loaded guns, and some of us were even sent on ambush patrols. The policewomen were also assigned to various positions in groups. Things only escalated from there, and before long, even the policewomen were given guns.
One of them, a know-it-all troublemaker I had told you about before, became particularly enthusiastic after watching some war movie on the MRTV and MWD channels. One night, while the policewomen were on guard duty, she decided to show them how to prime and load a gun, using her BA 94.
As she was demonstrating, "Hit, mount, open, prime, release, fire," she accidentally shot the gun. "Bang!"
The policewomen all exclaimed in shock, "Oh, my lord! Holy cow! Lord help me!" The officers at headquarters heard the gunshot and rushed over, fully armed, with our commander and captain of military intelligence leading the way.
When they arrived, the commander asked, "What happened? Is everyone okay?" The troublemaker lied and said she had seen something in the forest and fired at it, thinking she had hit something.
So, our commander ordered us to search the area, thinking we might find the weapon of whoever had been there. We all had to split into groups and go searching through the forest at night, where there could be snakes and all sorts of other dangers.
We searched all night but found nothing. The captain, who knew the truth about the troublemaker, suspected her and interrogated her, finding out the real story. She admitted to accidentally misfiring the gun, and we had all been out searching the forest for nothing.
When the commander heard the truth, she was furious. She told the troublemaker, "Yeah, yeah, Miss Troublemaker. You are always in the center of trouble, aren't you? Now, I have already told the uppers about this. Would it hurt you to tell the truth from the start?" But the troublemaker just sat there innocently, as if she had no idea what was going on.
Not long after the incident, a second-class military staff member from Operation and Training arrived at our base to inquire about the case. Our commander didn't dare tell the truth, so he also had to lie like the troublemaker had.
After listening to the story, the G2 officer praised the policewomen for their bravery. He said, "I am surprised by how brave these women are. They've got my respect. We can't do anything about hit or miss. But I am sure they won't dare come again after this." He even praised the troublemaker and reported back to the director.
From then on, every meeting would mention the incident and praise the troublemaker. Those of us who knew the real story weren't so happy about it. There were a lot of blunders in the military, and those who didn't know the truth just assumed we were all brave and skilled.
So, the moral of my story is that appearances can be deceiving. Just because someone has a medal of honor or a high appraisal doesn't necessarily mean they are truly brave or skilled. There are many blunders in the military, and some people who appear to be heroes may not have actually earned their accolades. Don't be impressed or intimidated by these superficial indicators of ability, and remember that the truth may be hidden beneath the surface.