The sixth chapter focuses on the killing behavior of soldiers in combat. The author writes that soldiers cannot become aggressive on their own. They must be influenced by their leaders and the surrounding conditions. There are manipulating variables that have to be regulated to ensure the soldiers’ ability to kill remains desirable. If not regulated, the soldiers could become rogue, or they may become too sympathetic to fight the enemy.
For soldiers to be ruthless on the battle front, they require authoritative leaders to give orders, demand respect and obedience. The soldier must also have a sense of belonging in his group. This requires proximity to one another within the group and their will to fight the enemy. The soldiers must not have any social, cultural, moral or mechanical association with the target enemy to avoid emotional attachment. Soldiers are also influenced by the strategies used to kill, payoff after killing and the relevance of killing the enemy.
Soldiers’ ability to kill is also influenced by their predisposition. This includes the level of training they have received and their experiences in the battle field. To illustrate his points, the writer gives The Road to My Lai as an application. This demonstrates how soldiers should prepare themselves for war and how they must behave during their mission. All the important factors such as the presence of an authoritative leader, obedience, respect, experience, training, group proximity and payoff factors are illustrated. Finally, the author portrays an army as one firing unit where every soldier must fulfill their part. The soldiers must be responsible for their colleagues and focus on the mission of killing their target. They must not be influenced by guilt whenever they kill because that is part of their mission.
Therefore, chapter six is a summary of the factors that influence soldiers’ will to kill. Important factors such as the presence of an authoritative leader, obedience, respect, experience, training, group proximity and payoff factors must be illustrated to ensure soldiers have the will to kill.
Works Cited
Grossman, Dave. On Killing. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1996.
