On Killing
On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace |
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society is a book by
Overview
The book is based on
Grossman points out that there are great psychological costs that weigh heavily on the combat soldier or police officer who kill if they are not mentally prepared for what may happen; if their actions (killing) are not supported by their commanders and/or peers; and if they are unable to justify their actions (or if no one else justifies the actions for them).
The second edition of the book, along with an audio version, was released in 2009.
The soldier's choice
Grossman claims in his book On Killing that soldiers are faced with four options once they have entered into combat.[3]
- Fight: As the name implies, this is the standard that defines the soldier's role as actively trying to defeat the enemy by use of their training.
- Flight: This option involves the combatant fleeing the engagement.
- Posture: This action involves the soldier falsely showing active participation in combat. In actuality they are not being effective in deterring the enemy from success. This is a major point of concern for commanders as it is difficult to tell the difference between a soldier posturing or fighting.
- Submit: Submission to the enemy during an engagement is a direct act of surrender. In the animal kingdom, this is used by lesser combatants to avoid being injured upon ascertaining the futility of the battle.
The problem of non- or miss-firing soldiers
Some authors have discredited S.L.A. Marshall's book, stating that the book may be more of an idea of what was occurring and not a scientific study of what was happening. Other historians and journalists have outright accused Marshall of fabricating his study.[5]
Another important factor that increased fire and hit rates is the development of camaraderie in training. Soldiers are taught that their actions do not only help or harm themselves, but the whole unit.[6][original research?] This recurring theme in recollections collected from war veterans is the idea that they were not fighting for themselves at the time but more concerned for the people to their left and right. This ideology is ancient, recorded for example by Sun Tzu in his book The Art of War: "If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst."[7]
Increase in PTSD since World War II
This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (March 2015) |
Some research indicates that the increased incidence of
World War II and Vietnam
The Vietnam War, when compared to World War II, had markedly more anti-war demonstrations which showed the public's unwillingness to involve itself in Vietnam. Along with demonstrations at home, people who were sent to fight thought there was no reason for the war and so did not feel a moral obligation to fight. In contrast, many U.S. soldiers in World War II felt they were stopping an evil empire from conquering the globe. This helped the World War II troops' mettle to be steadfast.[original research?]
Another problem with PTSD rates after World War II is the fact that there has been far less decompression time for the soldiers.[3] During World War II the main way back home was aboard ships, a trip that could take weeks. This time was spent with others who had had similar experiences and could understand the problems faced by others.[3] During Vietnam soldiers were sent via draft to one year rotations by plane. Draftees arrived to their unit usually by themselves and were often shunned. This shunning was due to the senior members being afraid to befriend someone with a much higher chance of being killed than experienced combatants. Once the draftees’ time in country was over they were sent back home by themselves. Travel may have been with other veterans but from a mix of units without enough familiarity to share hardships they had seen.
Finally one of the worst displays of environmental stressors was once back home they were demonized by the public and dismissed as human beings. This was in stark contrast with the treatment World War II veterans received when they came home from the
Modern engagements
In recent engagements such as the
Claims
Grossman's theory, based on the World War II research of S.L.A. Marshall, is that most of the population deeply resists killing another human. Some veterans and historians have cast doubt on Marshall's research methodology.
As a result of Marshall's work, modern military training was modified to attempt to override this instinct, by:
- using man-shaped targets instead of bullseye targets in marksmanship practice
- practicing and drilling how soldiers would actually fight
- dispersing responsibility for the killing throughout the group
- displacing responsibility for the killing onto an authority figure, i.e., the commanding officer and the military hierarchy (see the Milgram experiment)
By the time of the United States involvement in the Vietnam War, says Grossman, 90% of U.S. soldiers would fire their weapons at other people.
He also says the act of killing is psychologically traumatic for the killer, even more so than constant danger or witnessing the death of others.
Grossman further argues that
In On Combat (Grossman's sequel to On Killing, based on ten years of additional research and interviews), he addresses the psychology and physiology of human aggression.
Reception
Robert Engen, in a paper for the Canadian Military Journal critiquing On Killing, both praised and criticized Grossman's works, saying: "On Killing and On Combat form an excellent starting point, there are too many problems with their interpretation for them to be considered the final word on the subject."[1] Grossman's response to Engen, printed in the same journal, addresses the criticisms by showing that S.L.A. Marshall's findings, even after having doubt cast on their methodology, have borne out in further scientific studies and real world experience and, furthermore, have been the cornerstone of military and police training for over a half century.[11]
On Killing is on the United States Marine Corps' recommended reading list.[12]
Legacy
The series 3 Black Mirror episode, "Men Against Fire" (2016), was partly inspired by Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command and On Killing, and explores the same themes.[13]
See also
- Killology
- Psychology of combat
References
- ^ a b c d Engen, Robert. "Killing for Their Country: A New Look At 'Killology'". Canadian Military Journal. 9 (2). Archived from the original on 2011-07-21.
As a military historian, I am instinctively skeptical of any work or theory that claims to overturn all existing scholarship – indeed, overturn an entire academic discipline – in one fell swoop...[however] Lieutenant Colonel Grossman's appeals to biology and psychology are flawed, and the bulwark of his historical evidence – S.L.A. Marshall's assertion that soldiers do not fire their weapons – can be verifiably disproven.
- ISBN 978-0-7391-3031-5.
- ^ OCLC 32312539.
- ISBN 978-0-8061-3280-8.
- ^ Hunter, Evan (December 12, 2007). "Fire Away". Newsweek.
- ISBN 9780062082374.
- ISBN 978-0-14-303752-1.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ISBN 9780425200407.
- ^ Spiller, Roger J. (Winter 1988). "S.L.A. Marshall and the Ratio of Fire". RUSI Journal. pp. 63–71..
(Extracts are available on-line in an article criticizing Marshall Archived 2005-12-10 at the Wayback Machine) - ^ Hunter, Evan (December 12, 2007). "Fire Away". Newsweek.
- ^ Dave Grossman. "S.L.A. MARSHALL REVISITED...?". Canadian Military Journal. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-135-85934-3.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Black Mirror postmortem: Showrunner talks season 3 twists". Entertainment Weekly. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.