Facing Death in Battle: Considerations for Strategic Leaders

摘要

One of the most difficult problems of war in defense of a democratic society isthat it must be conducted without destroying the values that give meaning and validity to that society. This requires the strategic leader to be cognizant of those values that are especially found in the young men and women entrusted to the military to be trained for combat. Achieving an understanding of this human dimension to combat must be a continuing professional commitment on the part of the military leader; most especially on the strategic level, where responsibility and accountability are critical components of global decision-making. American society is becoming more and more sensitive to the value of human life and is unwilling to tolerate mounting numbers of casualties for any military operation without the greatest justification. In addition, society bears the ultimate responsibility of ensuring that soldiers and their families are prepared for the possibility of death since it is in directly answering the martial call from society that one places oneself in that very real circumstance. This has serious implications for the strategic military leader who may be forced to rethink not only on how to train for and conduct war; but to what extent and in which situations.