"Is it just me or is the average non-allied soldier just a complete failure in soldiering?"
They are not soldiers.
They are terrorists, thugs and criminals who were given AK-47s by a wannabe Saddam / Khoumeni.
bttt.
WhatEVER they are, hanging a blade on the end of your rifle and running into five-to-one odds makes someone pretty frea***g special compared to the world at large.
It's a good feeling to know that you have cousins like that!