There are dangers in placing a nation’s military on a pedestal. The military’s idea of itself has a range of ennobling features that others would surely like to emulate: courage under fire, discipline, and devotion to duty.

But the military, like any organisation, is comprised of people. And people are not automatically heroes. Nor are they granted supernatural insight by virtue of their service, rank or gender. Moreover, it’s easy to forget that the military is the archetypical bureaucracy: highly structured and driven by its chain of command.