Can you handle the truth? Picture this: a large room in a military barracks. A fair shake of stern-looking officers are standing about, all shiny buttons, and the odd medal. The air is thick with the smell of boot polish. Silence permeates the room, ratcheting up the tension. Military policemen are present in case things get out of hand.

The only people who look to have been plucked from civilian life are two barristers, togged out in wigs and gowns, and a solicitor, who has hung onto his civvie threads. For what is about to unfold is the court martial of a highly regarded officer who flew too close to the sun.

Enter a procession of officers, comprising the jury. They advance on their appointed seats to the jingle jangle of medals won in the course of service. You wouldn't mess with these boys.

The judge, a military man himself, reads out the charge against the defendant. What treasonous act has this man perpetrated? Did he sell military secrets to the Russians? Did he drive his men too hard? Was he planning a coup d'état?

No. The charge was that "you, Comdt Nile Donohoe did use the following words to your commanding officer: 'you little prick'."

This is not a scene from 'Carry On Up The Irish Army'. Unfortunately it is a scene from real life, one that went down at McKee barracks in Dublin on 24 May last.

Nile Donohoe is a 47-year-old squadron commander in the Air Corps. He is a father of two young children and a man who has been commended for the military service he has rendered over 28 years. One character witness who appeared on his behalf told the military court that Donohoe had made savings for the defence forces of at least €1.5m through his research into the installation of something called a modular fuel rig.

(That one army officer could be responsible for such a huge saving suggests that either he is a Michael O'Leary clone, or the military has no respect for money.) Another witness recalled that Donohoe had once saved a man who was under fire in the Lebanon.

Now, all that service was up in the air, along with his future, and all because he may have called a superior a little prick in a private conversation. Donohoe denied that he called the officer in question, Lieut Colonel Gerry O'Sullivan, any kind of a prick, big, little or otherwise. He says he used the expression "this is a little prickly", which was misheard by O'Sullivan. On such matters did the august and shiny gathering assemble in McKee barracks, at some expense to the state.

The alleged insult occurred on 30 January 2009 at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, when O'Sullivan was giving Donohoe his appraisal for the previous year. Relations between the two men were not good. Donohoe had, since July 2007, suffered work-related sickness which kept him out of work on a number of occasions. Prior to that he had consistently received good appraisals.

On this occasion, his superior officer, O'Sullivan, awarded him the lowest possible appraisal, "unsatisfactory".

At some stage following this, Donohoe either said, "you're a little prick", or "this is a little prickly". There was nobody else present to judge whether an insult was issued or whether it was just a man musing on a situation that was sticky, or even a little prickly.

The result was a court martial nearly 18 months later. Over the course of a five-day trial, up to a dozen witnesses were called, none of whom had actually witnessed the exchange. In the end, the five-member jury of his fellow officers, found Donohoe guilty of using insulting language to a superior officer. The offence carries a maximum term of two years' imprisonment.

The military judge, Col Tony McCourt, told Donohoe that the offence warranted 12 months in prison and dismissal with disgrace, but after taking into account mitigating factors, he would just dismiss Donohoe from the force.

McCourt accused the defendant of taking advantage of the fact that he and O'Sullivan were alone so that nobody else would hear the insult. That was a "grave mistake," the judge said.

Donohoe now faces the prospect of being the first officer to be ejected from the defence forces. If it wasn't so serious for him, and so expensive for the state, it would make fine comedy.

A few pertinent questions arise about this farce.

Notwithstanding the need for discipline etc, in an army, do some of these boys take themselves a tad too seriously? These officers enter as cadets and lead relatively charmed lives in a defence force that, to a large extent, is still divided along class lines.

When a situation like prickgate arises, is it possible in such a cocooned milieu for a so-called jury of peers to negotiate their way through army politics to find a verdict based solely on facts? In any event, even if the verdict is correct, does the punishment reasonably fit the crime?

The most pertinent question of all is does the state, at this point in its history, really require over 1,200 commissioned officers in a defence force numbering 9,300 personnel? The forces did commendable peacekeeping work abroad until the last mission ended last month, but perhaps it is time to debate whether that is sufficient reason to maintain its strength, particularly at officer level. The recent carry-on suggests some people might have too much time on their hands.

Donohoe has indicated he is appealing the conviction and sentence. Good luck to him.

mclifford@tribune.ie