> Emmanuel Charpentier
> > I read somewhere that a spanish group of soldiers did organise
> > itself democratically or anarchistically (?), but that they only managed
> > to lose their battles. Has anybody heard about that or such
> > experiments...?
one common characteristic of every army that has ever been is that fanatic discipline is crucial. any army where soldiers choose which orders to obey hasnt a chance, not one chance in hell, against an organized opponent. in fact, modern warfare research is trying to push the command and control technology even further than it has already advanced, which is far.
in military basic training, the job of the drill instructor is to take the recruit and tear down any self esteem based on anything other than his ability to follow orders. at the start of basic, the recruits are called magots, slimeballs, children, whatever. as they progress, a new self esteem is built based on their teamwork ability and blind obedience.
the worst insult you can give a soldier is to call him a mutineer. consider the straw that broke the camel's back in "mutiny on the bounty." captain bly did all kinds of cruel mean things, but fletcher christian was deeply, profoundly wounded when bly called him a "mutinous dog." you can call a sailor a dog if you want, but if you call him a mutinous anything, you best be ready to use yer fists. spike