A magnificent description of “The English Officer” has been doing the rounds on various ‘subnets’.
Our Russian друзья of over a half century ago are of course quite right. But since the recent re-circulation of this noble description, yours truly has discovered the tattered parchment of the rest of the article in question. The following translation will give the reader a more complete picture of this particular, peculiar, and paradoxical gentleman.
"... And this aloof manner yields, in maturity, a charisma that gives him free passage wherever he campaigns - every officer a diplomat.
What is more, it also renders him impervious to fashionable doctrines, of which every meritocratic Officer system falls victim to.
However, the most decisive advantage of this strange system is the social distance from his own men. This obviously leaves him quite free to exercise his will fully to the task at hand, but also somehow has a paternalistic mark; a form of love that cannot emerge from "the best" among the pool of conscripted souls.
Thus, NCO competes against NCO in respect to good order, discipline, and training, and, in parallel, Officer competes against Officer in daring, audacity, and judgement, with neither party ever believing that he could assume the position of the other.
A competition and harmony emerges that is only visible from within."
