Soldiers life threatened by his own side.

[Angrboda]

Yes, it was both bigoted and ignorant. Studies of combat show that a bulk of soldiers in a firefight either do not shoot their weapons, or shoot them in obviously harmless ways. The events in a firefight are such, that they've found that the majority of kills are by pure luck and chance, not aiming. As a result, they've found the best way to improve success is by improving rapidity of response, and sheer number of bullets in the air. That is why American soldiers now carry an M-4 carbine instead of an M-16 (an M-4 is a short barrel M-16); the M-4 carbine is less accurate, especially over distance, but it is quicker to bring to bear than the longer barreled M-16. As a result, soldiers in a firefight are able to get more rounds in the air faster with it.

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Jon Krakauer does an excellent job of covering the Pat Tillman story in "Where Men Win Glory". I didn't think it made any real memorable points about larger issues of life, the universe, and all that, and I had some thematic issues with it, but overall it was a very good read. (Krakauer has a "style" where he interweaves a small, personal story, back and forth in between a larger historical and political story, and it's a very effective technique, though I felt it worked better in his book on Mormonism, "Under The Banner Of Heaven," which is excellent.)

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Lt. Kendrick: I have two books at my bedside, Lieutenant, the Marine Code of Conduct and the King James Bible. The only proper authorities I'm aware of are my Commanding Officer, Colonel Nathan R. Jessep and the Lord our God.

Lt. Kaffee: Lt. Kendrick, at your request, I can have the record reflect your lack of acknowledgment of this court as a proper authority.

Col. Jessep: Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Jo: Why do you hate them so much?

Sam: They beat up on a weakling, and that's all they did. The rest is just smoke filled coffee-house crap. They tortured and tormented a weaker kid. They didn't like him. And they killed him. And why? Because he couldn't run very fast.

. . . .

Sam: Why do you like them so much?

Jo: 'Cause they stand on a wall. And they say "Nothing's gonna hurt you tonight. Not on my watch."

A Few Good Men

Oh, and might I point out that, historically, our nation has sent the poor and underprivileged to fight our wars, people with less education and more likely to be religious.