Summary Of On Killing By Dave Grossman

Introduction The book “On Killing” by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman discusses the taboo topic of killing and how humans are affected by it. The author does this with the help of testimonials coming from veterans who served in wars such as World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. The book looks at the act of killing and discusses some of the psychological methods that have been introduced to make soldiers effective killers as well as some psychological effects soldiers face in battle and when they return home. The purpose of this book is “to not only uncover the dynamics of killing, but to help pierce the taboo of killing that prevented the men in his book and many millions like them from sharing their pain” (pg.XXXV). The goal of this essay is to

The use of operant conditioning on soldiers first came into play after World War II and the results of this conditioning were first seen in the Vietnam war. We know this because the book states “there is evidence to indicate that this is one of the key ingredients in a methodology that has raised the firing rate from 15 to 20 percent in World War II to 90 to 95 percent in Vietnam” (pg.318). This increase in the firing rate among soldiers from World War II to Vietnam can be attributed to the operant conditioning methods the army introduced such as replacing bullseye shooting targets with realistic human silhouettes to mimic actual war scenarios. Another way in which armies incorporate operant conditioning into their training is through repetition, whether it is in the gun range or in personal training, the goal is to make that action become automatic when the soldier needs it. An example of this is found in the book “The Vietnam era was, of course then at its peak, you know, the kill thing. We’d run PT in the morning and every time your left foot hit the deck you’d have to chant “kill, kill, kill, kill”. It was drilled into your mind so much that it seemed like when it actually came down to it, it didn’t bother you, you know?” (pg.253). In order to get past mans innate reaction to not kill another man, repetition through

After World War II the army revamped much of their training, with a big focus on basic training camp which “was designed to undermine all the past concepts and beliefs of the new recruit, to undermine his civilian values, to change his self concept—subjugating him entirely to the military system” (pg.321). Simply put, the army aims for the recruits to lose their individual sense of self worth so that in its place they can instill discipline and conformity. By the end of basic, the recruits embrace their new-found discipline and violence and recognize it as necessary to survive in their new world. With their new outlook on the world the soldiers are more likely to kill for two reasons, first being that they do not want to let down others in their groups and second being the relentless training they received that simulated real scenarios which allows them to do before thinking. Without the brutalization that occurs in basic training, recruits would find it much more difficult to take a life, ultimately leading to similar results seen on the battlefield in World War II.
Finally, the armies use of role models on the soldiers has played an integral role in turning them into killers. The army does this using role models like the drill sergeant, this is seen in basic training camp where the recruits spent much of their time with