Does the increasing use of technology in warfare destigmatize war as something we should try and avoid?

TSgt Christopher D. — Sat, 02 May 2015 19:29:59 -0400

I'm just curious what you all think. My grandfather fought hand to hand with Japanese in WW2, and it cemented his view regarding war as the supreme of human horrors. With drones able to unleash impressive payloads, and our ability to operate drones from a room insulated from these horrors, do we risk losing stomach that sours at the carnage of war?

Response by CW2 Joseph Evans made May 2 at 2015 7:58 PM

CW2 Joseph Evans — Sat, 02 May 2015 19:58:56 -0400

The reality of most of the videos/combat footage used for battle damage assessment (BDA) leaves an impact on those that view it. MI Soldiers, Drone Operators, and staff responsible for viewing and reviewing those tapes are very aware of the reality of what they are viewing and suffer for it with symptoms of PTSD, moral injury, and depression.
The numbers for the body counts and collateral damage are nothing more than statistics to the people that get the final results though. Those who are responsible for the the deaths and counting the dead will continue to be impacted, but just as it has always been, those who ask others to kill for them will never truly understand what they ask of the men and women who follow their orders.

Response by MSgt Aaron Brite made May 2 at 2015 8:14 PM

MSgt Aaron Brite — Sat, 02 May 2015 20:14:29 -0400

We use technology to ensure a swift decisive victory (theoretically). Those waging war and those commanding them still face face the horrors of war and it consequences and accept responsibility. Technology may soften the blow, but war still pierces the heart. It may lessen our desire to avoid the hell we make, but not undully. We will know when it has gone too far and made us too accepting when we allow technology to prevent the warriors or their leaders from feeling the pains of war and accepting responsibility for out conduct.
Just my thoughts and if I may recommend for further thought on this topic. Star Trek the Original Series, "A Taste of Armagedon" where the enterprise crew is ordered with the civilian populace of an"attacked" to report for disintegration as casualties of a war. A war fought solely between two computers.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2015 2:05 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 May 2015 02:05:36 -0400

I'm reminded of an episode of Star Trek: "A Taste of Armageddon".

tl;dr of the episode suggests that advances in technology can be a double-edged sword when it comes to war: either they make it even more catastrophic (ala WW1) or they so remove people from it that those people no longer have a reason to avoid war.

I do think that, as we get more technical, the impact on us as a body will be greatly diminished, to the point that we'll be ever more ready to attack when we should look at other options first.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made May 3 at 2015 1:38 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sun, 03 May 2015 13:38:01 -0400

Great Query. As a Geek, Techie, Spook, I never got "My Hands Dirty" rarely saw the Human Affect of what I was doing. As the battlefield becomes more clinical, sterile we need to always be asking are we doing the right thing and in the right method.

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2015 10:03 AM

SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 May 2015 10:03:53 -0400

The answer is 'YES'. But that's not the real problem: less than 19 percent of our Congressional members have military experience! In their ignorance, they will get us killed because they don't have a clue! As for the 'carnage of war', can you imagine if like 45 years ago when Walter was on the TV every night reporting triple digit casualty figures followed by his trademark phrase "...And that's the way it is," followed by the date?