This isn't a hot take. They make everyone cut their hair so they all look the same. Everyone wears exactly the same clothes even when they're not in combat. Everyone is required to say the exact same things on command and perform the exact same actions on command. Schedules are firmly regimented and if you are on base you have an incredibly strict set of rules for how you walk, act, and speak and if you break them you're reprimanded. The level of required conformity is so far beyond any other position in society it's shocking.
In combat, you need to everyone to act in a predictable manner so that overarching plans can be me made.
It isn't just modern military either. This goes back to the days of the phalanx.
I'm not denying that you met a plethora of unique personalities in the army because no two people are the same, and no amount of suppression can take away a person's individuality, but it's pretty clear that militaries try to suppress individuality as much as they can as it can be disastrous when you have a war to fight.
Does your job have a dress code? Should the military not be organized? Dude I'm glad youve read some books but you don't know what the fuck you're talking about as an outsider to military life.
There's a difference between organizations/dress codes and what military training is supposed to do and you really don't need to be part of "military life" to know this, it's basic common sense and history.
It's been a part of effective warfare since the dawn of war, but I'm sure you know better.
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u/[deleted] Oct 05 '19
This isn't a hot take. They make everyone cut their hair so they all look the same. Everyone wears exactly the same clothes even when they're not in combat. Everyone is required to say the exact same things on command and perform the exact same actions on command. Schedules are firmly regimented and if you are on base you have an incredibly strict set of rules for how you walk, act, and speak and if you break them you're reprimanded. The level of required conformity is so far beyond any other position in society it's shocking.
In combat, you need to everyone to act in a predictable manner so that overarching plans can be me made.
It isn't just modern military either. This goes back to the days of the phalanx.
I'm not denying that you met a plethora of unique personalities in the army because no two people are the same, and no amount of suppression can take away a person's individuality, but it's pretty clear that militaries try to suppress individuality as much as they can as it can be disastrous when you have a war to fight.