Quote Originally Posted by motorfirebox View Post
Yeah, that doesn't seem like an ideal response at all. I mean, ideal for whom? The soldier, who is likely to either get himself killed out on the battlefield because he's distracted by all that sadness and respect, or have serious issues back home when the weight of all that sadness and respect comes down on him? The nation employing the soldier, who has to deal with a bunch more dead and damaged soldiers? Seems like the only party for whom that would be an ideal response is the guys the soldier is shooting at.

I get that what's supposed to happen is that the soldier's trigger finger will be more discerning if he empathizes with everyone he shoots at, but emotion as a mechanism for shoot/don't shoot differentiation seems like a terrible idea from the ground up.
There is a problem here which may have infected the US military (and maybe other militaries as well).

I note with horror that US junior officers themselves (as opposed reading lists imposed on them) list 'On Killing, by Dave Grossman' as number 7 on their own reading list. ( What do Army junior officers actually recommend reading?: Their own top 10 )

Someone needs to carry out some serious damage control right now as these young officers heads are being filled with nonsense.

I would like to learn more about Marlantes and his post Vietnam descent into a world of 'sex, drugs and rock and roll'. There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers (probably millions) over time - say since the Great War - who experienced more violent combat than him who did not fall apart.

Grossman and the like tell soldiers that they will suffer remorse (or worse) after having killed. (He does accept that for some/many/whatever this post killing phase may be fleeting - so fleeting that I must have missed it)

So if you don't have nightmares/have visions of the person you killed/suffer from depression/seek solace in drink and drugs/ etc etc then maybe you have a more serious problem.

This crap has to stop.

Surely there are enough US servicemen who have experienced combat and have not entered a self destructive spiral who can report that they did their duty and are still A-OK? Why is it always those who have issues who get interviewed and have their experiences included in case studies?

I contend that for the vast majority of soldiers the combat experience makes them stronger people.

It is also fair to say that at the war's end the infantry soldier who played his full part emerged strengthened and enlivened by the experience of battle. Above all, he knew the true meaning and true value of comradeship. Fostered by unity of purpose, the team spirit of the New Zealand battalions was a force of great power, rarely encountered in other walks of life. The sense of comradeship and mutual reliance was new in degree to those who found themselves in the team, and in itself was enough to submerge much of the uncertainty and unpleasantness of war. – New Zealand Infantry In Battle In World War II