[Arthur Wildfire! March]

American soldiers have not always pulled the trigger with such reliability. During World War II, according to the military historian S.L.A. Marshall, as many as 80 percent of the American infantrymen he interviewed failed to fire their weapons in combat. Marshall attributed the low ''fire ratio'' to a mixture of poor training and a natural reluctance to kill.

I admit that's interesting. Thank God for violent movies.

[chaosagent]

Is this guy really saying that only 20% of our infantry men fired in combat.

Didn't anyone ever notice that the other 80% weren't doing anything?

[Prodigal Son]

I admit that's interesting.

Read more on this topic. It concerns how to indentify "natural killers" and how to disperse them among your men so as to make the maximum impact- the theory being that the natural killer will be a catalyst for helping other soldiers overcome the natural aversion to killing other men. It's very interesting stuff. I knew this link would come in handy sooner or later.

Natural Killers —Turning the Tide of Battle by Major David S. Pierson, US Army