[PW] Re: Kokoda Track versus Kokoda Trail

[FERGUSON Timothy]

A note to our American colleagues, who may have been somewhat alarmed by the portrayal of MacArthur in this thread.  

During his time in Australia, one of MacArthur's main polciies was to draw more American troops under his command.  He did this because when he was using Australian troops, he needed to negotiate with Australian commanders, who have a different military culture, different rules of engagement, and different equipment.  For example, they were allowed ot tell him they did not agree with his plans and were unwilling to cary them out.  This is similar to the "red card" system used by the Australian forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they at times refused to agree to targets and ordnance, much to American annoyance.

MacArthur hated this, and so in his letters home consistently downplayed the effectiveness of Australian forces.  This causes a deep resentment in many people involved in Australian military life, because they see it as a betrayal of our war dead, who play an unusual role in Australian national mythology.

The track/trail business is one of the touchstones on this issue.



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