Stefan Viljoen schrieb:

> coming back in. Properly trained soldiers will also NEVER just fire back,
> if fired upon - it depends on what orders they have been given. Granted, a
> soldier that has got no orders might just take cover, instead of
> automatically returning fire. I vividly remember how it was hammered into
> our skulls, over and over until I could VOMIT with it, that you NEVER fire
> without clear orders, a clear target, and when you know what is BEHIND your
> target. The sequence was always "wait for my command" - especially if you
> had loaded weapons and a properly trained officer.

That's what I'd expect. Be sure of the situation first. Though I guess 
some armies would accept /some/ kind of personal initiative if fired 
upon by a "friedly" who doesn't comply to "cease fire!"

> A civilian might have been of more use, not subject to military discipline
> or trained to wait for orders - he'd have had to use his own judgement,
> which is often VERY badly regarded in most armies. You do what you are
> told. If you are not told to do something, you don't do it.

Well, to some degree there's a reason to this discipline, isn't there?

If I'd be in a shopping mall with someone starting a shooting spree, I 
wouldn't want other people to make it worse by shooting first and 
checking later whether they might hit some innocent bystander.

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