The Rousing US & UK Speeches Taking Aim At Racism In The Forces
A British Army sergeant has ripped into racists saying that there is no place for them in Britain's military and that: "We might be soldiers but we are also citizens and we abide by the law of the land."
His powerful online message, in which he adds: "The bottom line is this: There is no place in the British Army, whatsoever, for any form of racism" echoes an anti-racism address from across the pond last year when a video of an officer's speech to US military cadets quickly went viral around the world.
Army Sergeant Major Glenn Haughton, taking to the internet after a high-profile court case last week, delivered an unequivocal response to the notion that there is any place for racism in the British Army, adding: "That's why one of our core values is respect for others - what is difficult to understand about that?"
It was a week which saw Lance Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, who collected a host of legally-held weaponry, jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to having a banned canister of CS gas.
While the serving Royal Anglian Regiment soldier and Afghanistan veteran was cleared of a terrorism offence and two counts of stirring up racial hatred by a Birmingham Crown Court jury, his own barrister had told jurors it was "not in dispute that he is a racist".
He was on trial alongside 25-year-old Private Mark Barrett, also of the Royal Anglians, and formerly of Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore, Rutland.
Private Barrett was acquitted of a charge of membership of the proscribed far-right organisation National Action.
In response to the court proceedings, Army Sergeant Major Haughton delivered the following speech:
He said: "We might be soldiers but we're also citizens and we are bound by the law of the land - and I, for one, wouldn't have it any other way.
"The bottom line is this. There is no place in the British Army, whatsoever, for any form of racism."
"That's why one of our core values is respect for others. What is difficult to understand about that?
"If you're a serving soldier or a would-be soldier and you hold these intolerant and extremist views, as far as I'm concerned, there is no place for you in the British Army - so get out.
"It is the duty of every soldier, if they see this behaviour, to have the moral courage to do something about it and report it up the chain of command.
"Each of us has a responsibility to make sure that our great institution, the British Army, is a place where everybody can thrive and an institution that our nation is proud of."
But how does the message compare to the one delivered by US Lieutenant General Jay Silveria in September, which then quickly went viral?
As the superintendent of the Air Force Academy Preparatory School in Colorado, he was furious after racist slurs were found on the message boards of five black cadet candidates there:
He said: "If you're outraged by those words, then you're in the right place. That kind of behaviour has no place at the prep school, it has no place at USAFA [United States Air Force Academy] and it has no place in the United States Air Force.
"You should be outraged not only as an airman - but as a human being.
"I'll tell you that the appropriate response for horrible language and horrible ideas is a better idea."
"It's about our diversity. It's the power of... the 4,000 of you and all of the people that are on the staff tower and lining the glass, the power of us as a diverse group.
"The power that we come from all walks of life, that we come from all parts of this country, that we come from all races, we come from all backgrounds [and] genders... The power of that diversity comes together and makes us that much more powerful.
"This is our institution and no one can take away our values... So just in case you're unclear on where I stand on this topic, I'm going to leave you with my most important thought today.
"If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect, then you need to get out."
"If you can't treat someone from another gender, whether that's a man or a woman, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.
"If you demean someone in any way, then you need to get out.
"And if you can't treat someone from another race, or [with] a different colour skin, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out."
Air Force Academy officials later revealed that one of the five black cadet candidates who had been targeted by the racist messages had admitted actually writing them himself.
Silveria said in a statement afterwards, however, that his words remained relevant regardless.
He's quoted by CNN as saying:
"Regardless of the circumstances under which those words were written, they were written, and that deserved to be addressed. You can never overemphasise the need for a culture of dignity and respect and those who don't understand those concepts aren't welcome here."
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