Rules of Engagement was Re: [extropy-chat] Re: Meta: Too far

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Brett Paatsch <bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au> wrote: 
> > ummmm.... NO. Although there does seem to be a rise in
> > armed conflicts in American schools these days, using
> > the military to solve this would be like using a
> > sledge hammer to fix a toothache.
>  
> I'm just gently stirring you, Stuart. But I did have a bit of a
> point in mind.  That is that rules of engagement for conduct
> in military situations can hardly be less likely to produce
> human error than "rules of engagement" under non military
> situations as the people involved in both are essentially
> the same. 

Not really. Humans trained in modern military units are distinctively
NOT like run of the mill persons on the street. No civilian
organization I know of uses negative reinforcement so extensively or
effectively. The military knows that war is very very messy and it has
used the decades since WWII to scientifically figure out how to make it
less so, make soldiers more reliable and more productive. The
regimentation, conformity, gung ho sloganeering and extensive
repetetive rote instruction of subordinates, along with very effective
leadership training for unit leadership. It all functions to make
soldiers want to obey orders when they otherwise wouldnt, or even
shouldn't.

Soldiers are trained to do their jobs no matter how they feel about it.
If that means shooting bad guys, they learn to do it without being
repulsed. That also means learning to distinguish innocents from
combatants, although IMHO the military doesn't do as much as it should.


Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com

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