The Sacred Band of Thebes has been mentioned several times in this thread (history link from an earlier post). That mention shook open an old file drawer in my noggin - not about the Theban Band itself; but about a clever tactic used against a "Theban-type Band" in the Roman Games.

I read Those About to Die (Ballantine, 1958), by Daniel P. Mannix, in the late 1950s. This lassoing tactic stuck in my head as being clever:

(snip beginning here):

...
After this first bout, there was a full-scale battle between the Essedarii in their chariots, with laqueurii (lariat throwers) riding with them, and Hoplite infantry in armor and carrying spears.

The Hoplites were Greek mercenaries who fought for hire under their own officers, either against an enemy or in the circus. On entering the arena, the Hoplites formed a closed phalanx, the equivalent of the British hollow square that broke Napoleon's chasseurs eighteen hundred years later.
...
(snip ending here):

...
The phalanx was itself again, ready to meet the next charge of the Essedarii.

Two chariots were coming in abreast now. Surely they intended to hit the phalanx full on, sacrificing themselves so the following chariots could plow through the broken line.

The Hoplites braced themselves for the shock. At the last instant the chariots split, turning to left and right. The lariat man in the left-hand chariot threw his noose with the quick, underhand toss, aiming for a man in the rear rank.

An officer cut the rope through with a single slash while it still hung poised in mid-air. He had served in the Near East and his sword was of Damascus steel. The other lariat man took advantage of the distraction. He had been playing his rope, doing a spin now known as the Ocean Wave, in an attempt to hold the Hoplites' attention and distract them from his friend.

When he saw that his comrade's throw had been foiled, he instantly flung his own rope, leaning far over the side of the chariot and putting the whole force of his body into the motion, using his arm mainly to guide the rope. He caught a man in the fifth rank, jerked him off his feet, and began towing him through the other lines.

Among the Hoplites, homosexuality was regarded not only as natural but as an idealized and noble relationship between an older and a younger man.

In the phalanx, the young men in the front ranks each had a lover among the older men in the rear ranks. This situation was believed to increase the efficiency of the regiment for no man would run away and forsake his lover in a crisis. But the relationship also posed difficulties.

As the Essedarius dragged his captive through the ranks, the man's boy-lover dropped his spear and threw himself on his friend's body to save him. The two men together cut a wide swathe through the ranks.

An officer passed his sword through the boy's throat and the cry of "Dress ranks! Dress ranks!" went up from the officers and the non-coms alike. But the damage had been done. The phalanx was broken, and the yelling Essedarii were charging in from all directions.
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Now, (1) Mannix's book can be fairly classed as "popular history" or "historical fiction"; and (2) I do not present this as an argument against gays serving in combat situations. I don't think it likely that either Army or Marines are going to field a "Theban Band" at a "Restrepo".

I can think, however, of a situation where close (straight) relationships were a material adverse factor to a "Non-Theban Band" - the 1975 collapse of many ARVN units who were tied locally to their families.

I doubt that either of these issues (the "Non-Theban" being statistically much more likely) will be considered rationally or in an NPC mode.

Regards

Mike