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The Trained Soldier in Contemporary Combat

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Killing on Command

Part of the book series: Critical Criminological Perspectives ((CCRP))

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Abstract

The law does not exist in a vacuum. Neither does society. The law is ‘not some mysteriously external force’ but is a part of the social experience in which the law forms the social and the social forms the law (Cotterell 2006, 25; see also Hall 2014, 103). That is, the law and society are interconnected and shape one another. In order for the law to be effective, it must take social and environmental factors into account. While those who have not experienced conflict are unlikely to fully understand the experiences of war (McGarry and Walklate 2011, 912), there has been increasing awareness and a growing body of knowledge of the soldier’s experiences and their impacts. However, significantly more research by psychologists, lawyers, anthropologists, behaviourist scientists, criminologists and the like is needed in order to develop a fuller and more comprehensive understanding of the effects of combat on the soldier. A greater understanding of the soldiers’ experiences and the role and effects of the environmental factors present in combat on the social production of crime in war would have many benefits. It would facilitate better training to withstand the pressures and stresses of combat, greater adherence to the rule of law and improved reintegration into society post-combat. Moreover, this research would permit the creation and implementation of a law that is more attuned to the realities of the combat environment. A law that encompasses the realities and inherent characteristics of the combat environment has a stronger ability to shape the environment and the behaviour of the soldier within that environment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Doris and Murphy provide a summary of empirical research that has been developed over 70 years, which attests to the power of the environment over an individual’s moral cognition and behaviour. The research found that a passer-by who finds a dime is 22 times more likely to assist someone than a passer-by who did not find a dime; a passer-by who is not in a hurry is 6 times more likely to help a person in significant distress than a passer-by in a hurry; a passer-by is 5 times more likely to assist someone when the surrounding noise is at normal levels than when a power lawnmower is running and Zimbardo’s ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ showed that people placed in simulated positions of power often abuse that power; see Doris and Murphy (2007, 33–4). Specifically, see Isen and Levin (1972, 384–8), Darley and Batson (1973, 100–8), Mathews and Cannon (1975, 571–7) and Haney et al. (1973, 69–97), respectively.

  2. 2.

    Doris and Murphy also note that an examination of the environmental factors present in war and their effects on participants inevitably requires empirical evidence and analysis; see Doris and Murphy (2007, 27).

  3. 3.

    See McNab (2009), [Ranger Jordan Armstrong, The Royal Irish Regiment] 9 and [Private Tom Dawkes, The Mercian Regiment] 302, for accounts of how Afghanistan was the first or second time that they had been overseas.

  4. 4.

    Military training continues in war. Soldiers can run laps in body armours and with weapons. They can rehearse scenarios, often ambush scenarios, and they can inspect and prepare vehicles and weapons; see Mullaney (2009, 274).

  5. 5.

    For example, in 2006, 3300 British forces were deployed to southern Afghanistan, which was an inadequate force to enforce law and order in Helmand. The British commanders had only 700 infantrymen to cover 23,000 miles2. In November 2007, the Security Council noted that the NATO force needed to be doubled to 80,000 front-line soldiers. Remote base camps were attacked by the Taliban using rocket-propelled grenades, small arms and Chinese 107 rocket attacks; see McNab (2009, 21–3, 340).

  6. 6.

    Osiel regards the position that each situation must be approached on its own merit and the elimination of reliance on ex ante norms as too extreme and believes this approach heightens the risk of legal rules being excessively disregarded at the expense of tactical advantage; see Osiel (1998, 1075).

  7. 7.

    See Grossman (2009, 97–133) for an in-depth discussion on killing at a variety of ranges.

  8. 8.

    Although Browning’s study was of a reserve police battalion, it was not a civilian police environment. Instead, the reserve policemen were in a war environment and were directly participating in the killing and/or capture and transportation of people to extermination camps. In this way, their actions and standards shed light on behaviour in combat.

  9. 9.

    See chapter 4 for a discussion of the dehumanisation of the enemy in military training.

  10. 10.

    Holmes believes that the dehumanisation of the Vietnamese through the ‘mere gook rule’ paved the way for the My Lai massacre. The ‘mere gook rule’ stated that killing a Vietnamese civilian did not count; see Holmes (2004). O’Brien believes that the dehumanisation of the enemy and the conditioning process in military training contributed to the actions of the US soldiers in My Lai; see O’Brien (1973, 42).

  11. 11.

    Once in the military though, individuals with an aggressive personality are more likely to be in specialised units and volunteer for dangerous operations, which are likely to be higher-stress environments and have greater occasions to kill; see Mackmin (2007, 79) and Watson (1978, 243–6).

  12. 12.

    It is important to note that generally war does not irreversibly brutalise soldiers. Instead, many or most soldiers live normal lives when they return from war; see Doris and Murphy (2007, 31).

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  1. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Carmel O’Sullivan

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O’Sullivan, C. (2016). The Trained Soldier in Contemporary Combat. In: Killing on Command. Critical Criminological Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49581-5_5

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