A way has to be found to reconnect our military with civilians

The Botswana Defence Force has to work harder at reconnecting with the civilians.
Programmes have to be crafted to link the army with the civilians that it serves.
That will create the much needed understanding between the two spheres.
We appreciate the good effects of BDF Day which is very popular for many people especially young kids.
But other more meaningful programmes targeting different strata of society would really help the BDP to once again reconnect with the civilian population.
Travelling around the world in established democracies like United Kingdom, India, United States and Israel one cannot help but admire the reverence with which civilians hold their militaries.
That is something that does not come on its own.
It is a result of concerted efforts on the part of the militaries to keep in touch with civilians.
In Botswana an unfortunate narrative has been allowed to hold that the BDF enjoys undue portions of the national budget.
The BDF has unfortunately and somewhat unwittingly been complicit in that the leadership there has not shared with the nation just how far short their share is as a result of the needs.
It is embarrassing that in this day and era we still have BDF soldiers permanently staying in tents because there are no houses.
This is not the fault of the current BDF leadership, which, we want to be upfront with it, we have some issues with.
Lack of accommodation at BDF is as a result of many years of capital underinvestment and misallocation at the BDF. It would thus be unfair to blame it all on the current leadership. Nonetheless, our military has to do more to connect with the civilians.
That is the only way that civilians can internalise and in the long run appreciate the sacrifices that soldiers go through their service, including during times of peace.
It is breathtaking how in many democracies across the world, civilians hold their armed services with high regard.
This is not to suggest that Batswana look down upon their army.
But our view is that the high regard with which civilians used to look at their military has somewhat ebbed.
This has to do with the style of military leadership over the years.
It also has to do with the fact that our military is today much more politicised.
Forget what the law says about the right to join a political party of one’s choosing upon retirement, the fact of the matter is that it has not helped the army that at least three of its past commanders later went on to join politics; Lt General Mompati Merafhe, Lt General Ian Khama and Lt Carter Masire.
The fact that they all joined the ruling party has in the face of many created an opinion ÔÇô possibly wrong ÔÇô that these men were appointed to their positions in the army owing to their political affiliations.
It is not rare for former military men to join politics.
It happens a lot in the United States.
But then America is an established democracy where very few of these former men, with the notable exception of Eisenhower ever reached the pinnacles of political power.
There is another reason why the ordinary civilians now have a deep disdain for the military.
Over the recent past the media has carried a lot of corruption stories about the Botswana Defence Force, especially the army’s procurement.
These stories have almost invariably painted a picture where the political elite and the economically connected are beneficiaries.
Accumulatively, these reports have sequentially detached the public away from the army.
That is because, rightly or wrongly civilians increasingly view their army as a hive of corruption and elitism.
Surely these perceptions can be corrected. They are not in the interest of the military.
For it to carry out its mandate, the military cannot rely on the force of law alone.
The military also needs popular legitimacy from civilians.
And this can only come about if civilians fully understand the challenges faced by our men and women in the army.
And surely that can be done without the slightest prejudice to national security often cited as a pretext for detachment.