Soldiers had the right to call meetings to criticize officers and to complain to superior authorities. If judged guilty, the officer generally apologized or repented at a mass meeting.
In Los Angeles in 1973, one Leonor Pendleton was fired for "incompetence, insubordination and failure to comply with job instructions" after refusing to make coffee.
I don't think I will ever feel as powerless as I did when I was on my knees, wearing a U. s. military uniform in the Middle East, forced by my superior to shove my head between another man's legs.