Larry Earles was no ordinary helicopter pilot. Flying the deadly OH-6A Loach in the jungles of Vietnam, he became a living nightmare for enemy forces. Shot down seven times and surviving against impossible odds, Earles earned a reputation so fierce that Viet Cong soldiers were ordered to avoid him at all costs. Wearing a six-foot red scarf and daring the enemy to take their best shot, he flew some of the most dangerous missions of the war. This is the story of a man who turned fear into strategy and defiance into legend. The most ruthless man Viet Cong soldiers were told to avoid is more than a nickname — it’s a legacy built one mission at a time.
The relevance to Australian Soldier Julian Knight?
Well, historically none. Julian Knight has not become a helicopter pilot but could easily have given his intelligence, aptitude, co-ordination skills and ability to function under pressure.
From a combat soldiering perspective this is a comparative case of ‘what if’?
- What if Julian Knight’s soldiering skills and commitment had been properly recognised by the Australian Defence Force during his training?
- What if Julian Knight had not been subjected to the negative leadership and bastardisation by unqualified bullying senior cadets at RMC Duntroon?
- What if Julian Knight had instead been able to train at Portsea Officer Cadet School and not at the antiquated and sick Canberran Duntroon’s bastardisation asylum that has not changed since inception in 1911?
Julian Knight’s rifle marksmanship, his steadfast commitment and tolerance to being subjected to hardship demonstrated a rare capacity to endure combat. But the problem was that Royal Military College (RMC) Duntroon failed to recognise these killing traits. It let bullying senior cadets intimidate all junior cadets under a sick and hateful culture that dates back to 1911.
Why does one get accepted into the Army in the first place? A key memorable question upon applying for RMC Duntroon is:
“Are you prepared to kill to defend yourself or others?”
Well, if an applicant to RMC Duntroon answers ‘no‘, automatic prima facie one does not advance to application Step #2.
Knight may well have likely achieved Sniper/Commando standard if having been allowed to graduate and properly training under a positive leadership regime (no senior cadets ridiculously involved whatsoever). He has a natural gift as a soldier. He may well by now have been honoured with his third Victoria Cross medal of Infantry service…so having after RMC graduation then having immediately served in Infantry combat in Namibia in 1989 (Knight’s birth mother is White South African), then Gulf War in 1991 (save not the later peacekeeping phase), then in the Afghanistan War 2001-2013, and switching on and off to the Iraq War 2003-2020. He may have made promotion to the rank of ‘Major’ by then. Yet, not being politically interested, higher ranks would not have appealed.
Knight displayed no fear in field combat training. It would have seriously have been…Enemy Lookout! ..this instead of him taking out his angst against society beside Hoddle Street train station. The poor innocent killed and wounded victims and their families need to know this for the record. The Duntroon asylum caused Knight to just lose it and he wrongly targeted the wrong enemy is a fit of psychotic outburst in one drunken hour of ‘tempo-schizo’ payback.
What fools Duntroon incompetent management were and remain to mistreat a born soldier! Military command mistreating a born soldier is a recipe for disaster! Think of the movie Full Metal Jacket of 1987 – the very same year of Duntroon’s bastardisation of Staff Cadet Knight.
