Re: Unit pride was RE: Questions regarding NAC ground units

From: <Beth.Fulton@csiro.au>

> At the risk of getting myself expelled from Australia (this list and
> wargaming in general I guess) I have always marvelled at people
quoting
our
> (Australia's) "digger" traditions and proclaiming we're damn fine
soldiers
> based on something that happened when my grandfather still got acne!
OK I
> know Aussie soldiers (and obviously this extends to other nations too)
have
> "done good" since (e.g. Long Tan... sorry if I spelt that wrong), but
even
> that can be a good while ago (Vietnam is something I know about, but
at 28
> don't remember it for myself). Maybe its just my non-military
upbringing
and
> the fact the closest to combat I've been is sport and academia (OK
they do
> say the pen is mightier than the sword, and science politics is not
for
the
> weak at heart, but you know what I mean), but in those fields this
years
> "greats" can be next years "flops" its never a steady and constant
thing.
So
> is all this pride in unit history there so that you don't let the side
down
> when it comes your turn or is it the hope that you won't let the side
down?

I forget who said "a rational army would run away".

I've been shot at, but it was a long time ago and far away, and it
didn't
seem very dangerous at the time, so that doesn't really count.
Still, I have had a gang surround me and one of em pull a knife in a
situation
where I couldn't run away, and that was quite scarey enough, thanks very
much.
And due to some years as a patient in an oncology ward in the 70s, I've
seen
quite a few mates die horrible deaths around me, and fully expected to
go
that
way myself. I know the varieties of fear, from the stark fighting terror
that causes
you to lose kinesthesia (your limbs feel weightless, you move without
thought,
you can lift huge loads and break your own bones doing it), through to
the
much worse icy chill when you realise that in a few weeks you're going
to
be dead, but that you have an ocean of pain to cross first - and you
keep
on going, hoping against hope, and trying to do whatever you can to make
a difference before you die, to try to give some point to it all.

What keeps soldiers at the sharp end from making themselves scarce when
the
whizzbangs start to fly? Firstly, there's the fear of letting down your
mates.
But also, there's tradition: our ancestors (even if they weren't blood
relations)
managed to do (insert heroic deed here) so we have the capability to do
the
same. So we *can* overcome our fear. And not merely that, but tear those
enemy bastards limb from limb and rip their throats out with our teeth
if
neccessary.

It's not logical, nor rational. It's an emotional comfort that quells
panic
and allows you to function in a irrational manner, doing what your will
requires
of you, rather than what your instincts and intellect says you should
do.

So it doesn't matter that those who fought at Anzac Cove are long gone,
nor
that
not a drop of their blood flows in our veins. They did it: we can too.

To everyone upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late
But how can we die better
Than facing fearless odds
For the ashes of our fathers
And the temples of our gods?

Finally, there's another very important thing: the reputation of units.
Australian infantry has the (deserved) reputation of being indomitable
shock troops. Their reputation scares the bejayzus out of the
opposition.
And that's a huge advantage. Success breeds success, and failure breeds
failure. That's why Regimental traditions are so important - and
conversely,
if you're up against an opponent with such traditions, you're going to
have to fight twice, thrice or more times as hard, as they won't quit.