[lawnboy]

I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately. I'm currently reading A Rifleman Went to War by H.W. McBride. He was an American who resigned a commission in the National Guard to go to Canada and enlist in British Army so that he could get into WWI quicker.

He is decidedly on the "feel no compunction about killing the enemy" side of the balance. Jeff Cooper wrote the foreword to the edition that I'm reading. His account of his actions and feelings is readable, interesting, thorough and believable. He acknowledges that he is aware that his attitude towards his actions in the war makes some people squeamish, but he doesn't temper it or back away. His attitude can be summed up as "They're the enemy. Kill them or they will kill you. What's for lunch?".

It seems to me that this is a desirable attitude in a soldier. It also seems to me that this is what the USMC was aiming for when I was there. I was never tested so I don't know if in my particular case they were successful. It seems like a desireable attitude in anyone trained to use deadly force whether this is a private in the USMC or a private citizen with a CPL who has taken an NRA defensive handgun course or anyone in between.

But only you can decide where you stand on the issue.