Sheepdog Tip of the Day, After Combat tip 74
It may trouble us to think that we should congratulate, praise and reward a man who kills someone in honorable combat, but the alternative is to have disposable soldiers and one-shot, throwaway police officers. The alternative to honoring them is to destroy them for doing exactly what we told them to do. We employ them, equip them, enable them, and empower them to kill, and then when they do, we act ashamed of them. This is a shameful and inexcusable thing to do and the first step in correcting this is for the warrior and his comrades, like the fighter pilots, to honor themselves. I had the privilege of witnessing a powerful affirmation and honoring of a young warrior one day when I was training at a state SWAT conference. The head of the state police SWAT team, an old sergeant with many gun battles under his belt, introduced a young officer from a rural police department, and told how he who had recently been shot in the face and was still recovering from his wounds. He told how the young officer had been shot and survived. "Best of all," the Old Sarge said, "he got back up and killed the bastard who shot him." There was a growling roar of affirmation from the crowd upon hearing these words, and I could see the young warrior hold his head high with shining eyes. There is honor, if we honor them. There is glory if we give it to them, and the process starts within the warrior community, and then it works outward.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Combat
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Additional Resources
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