On Killing

Who is Colonel Milton Mater from On Killing and what is their importance?

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Colonel Mater is a World War II veteran who made the same observation as General Marshall. Part of the leadership of troops during warfare was the need to deal with nonfirers and getting soldiers to genuinely attack the enemy. He was informed of this by World War I veterans. Also, the difference between firing at the enemy and being aware of killing are two different things. The mid-range and long-range hide this best since soldiers can honestly assert that they fired but deny awareness of whether or not they killed. Late in the book Mater's observation comes up in the kill vs. no kill distinction when firing does take place. In Vietnam, at least once, soldiers feigned obedience to a kill order against civilians by firing their weapons without harming a single person. Their field commander was only able to get them to obey his order when he directly and genuinely shot and killed some of those he had ordered his men to kill. This reflects a commonly found aspect of battlefield psychology.