I met an asshole like this Colonel on my first day in Saigon. He didn’t mind getting a bunch of civilians killed because he refused to give them press credentials (Bao Chi) which could help them in a bad situation. Each had a letter from a legitimate newspaper asking for credentials as they would be writing for them.
Fortunately I got mine early at the Pentagon where I was a correspondent for a national weekly, and where the staff were competent and helpful.
I told him (at JUSPAO I) to shove mine and walked away. The South Vietnamese, in a few minutes, got us their press passes and we felt a lot safer. Went throughout a lot of So. Vietnam without even an armed escort and never had any trouble, though a couple weeks later, a priest was killed by the VC/NVA on the same road we had travelled.
They blew his station wagon apart with an RPG though they knew he was a priest.
Sometimes our own people are out own worst enemy. Some day I will tell you about my current problems with a major govt institution who doesn’t realize that we are working for the same boss, the American people.