How could getting malaria measure the discipline and morale of a unit?

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 10:37 AM

I know, that didn't make sense to me at first. I mean, how can getting bitten by a mosquito measure anything but the nettlesome persistence of the insect? But a footnote to the 1972 article in the American Journal of Psychiatry article I mentioned the other day says that the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam used the rate of malaria in a given unit as an indicator of command performance "because the incidence of vivax malaria directly reflected whether or not the men had taken their chloraquin primaquine tablets, a function of discipline and morale." (P. 699)

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EXPLORE:HEALTH, HISTORY, MILITARY, PUBLIC HEALTH

Drunk driving: It's not just for enlisted

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Thursday, October 28, 2010 - 10:57 AM

The Marine Corps Times says the commanding officer of the Marine base at Cherry Point, North Carolina (just up the road from Camp Lejeune) was busted for DUI.

This is not a good idea. It reminded me of a line in a novel, Richard Price's Lush Life, that I was listening to while driving from Maine to Maryland, in which a cop tells a stoned driver to wait until he got to his father's apartment to light up: "Do me a favor. You want to do your little somethin' somethin'? Do it up there."

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Mugabe hits no. 1 on jerk list

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 5:16 PM

Move over, Rupert. I'm promoting Zimbabwe thug Robert Mugabe to No. 1 on my list. Despite his toxic effect on American journalism, Murdoch never gave anyone choldera, as far as I know.

Here is the latest Zimbabwe report from Doctors Without Borders (aka MSF, Medicins Sans Frontieres):

The political crisis and resultant economic collapse is manifesting in cholera, population movement, hyperinflation, food insecurity, violence and a lack of access to HIV/AIDS treatment and health care more generally.

Despite the glaring humanitarian needs, the government of Zimbabwe continues to exert rigid control over aid organisations. MSF faces restrictions in implementing medical assessments and interventions. Especially in cases of emergencies where quick action often determines life or death, allowances for a rapid humanitarian response is crucial."

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EXPLORE:AFRICA, AIDS, CORRUPTION, PUBLIC HEALTH