Sheepdog Tip of the Day, Before Combat tip 68
Discipline is the safeguard in a warrior's life. It is the difference between the sheepdog and the wolf. The military does not dress young troops in uniforms, shave their heads and make them march just for the fun of it. They do these things because if the young warrior cannot submit his will to authority about inconsequential things, such as the way he dresses and how he wears his hair, then he cannot be trusted to submit his will to authority for important things, such as employing deadly force only when a situation calls for it, no matter how bad the provocation. At least while the trainee is in the police academy or in military basic training, there is a need for discipline and submission to authority, and that is the safeguard. Say you are a law enforcement officer or a soldier, and you go to a firing range and shoot at the wrong time or point your weapon in the wrong direction. Or, worse yet, you shoot in the wrong direction. What do you think would happen? A whole world of hurt would come down on your head! The idea of shooting in the wrong direction or at the wrong time is beyond comprehension in the minds of a trained warrior. That is the discipline that the warrior lives by. That is the safeguard.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Combat
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