ISSUE 91 : Nov/Dec - 1991 - Australian Defence Force Journal

16 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL NO. 91 NOVEMBER DECEMBER 1991
Group-think can accentuate weakness in the commander.
information can also act as a catalyst. According to
medical journals, 24 the remedy is companionship,
encouragement and reassurance, or as Dinter prescribes:
group integration, hope, trust and the close
leadership of seniors. 25 However, such benefits are
rarely available to the commander; as alluded to by
Montgomery when speaking of the 'loneliness of
command'. Personality and ability may be the only
solace, and when insufficient, the result can be an
unwillingness to take decisions, lack of perception,
irrationality and over-reaction. This was apparent in
the BEF of WWI, when over 20% of senior
commanders were sacked on account of stress. It is a
factor recognised by the Soviets, who believe that
the 'first casualty of stress is clear and reasoned
thought and the last thing to go from a soldier's
mind is rehearsed drills'. 2 '' We therefore see an
emphasis on drill and repetition as opposed to
intellect and initiative, the commander being
encouraged to use flow charts and algorithms to
ease the pressures of field command.
This loneliness of command can also reveal a
more ingrained, deep-rooted weakness in soldiers'
make-up. Psychologists such as Prof N. Dixon
suggest that the military offers a safe haven to
individuals prone to anxieties such as fear of failure,
need for approval and deafness to unpalatable
information. 2 " Not until the position of ultimate
responsibility is reached are such weaknesses exposed.
Moreover, the problems can be compounded
by the military's recourse to collective decisionmaking.
'Group-think', according to Dixon, can
actually accentuate the weaknesses in a commander.
It can serve to rationalise away items of disturbing
information and create an illusion of invulnerability.
Pearl Harbor is cited as one such example of the
disastrous consequences of this.
We might not necessarily agree with all of his
views. However, Dixon provides a useful illustration
of the inherent dangers in the fallibility of the human
mind, and if we are to reject attempts to portray the
commander's mind as an 'achilles heel', we should at
least recognise that it will not always be the source of
abiding strength.
Mind Over Matter
Just as we might like to think of the human mind
as being a weapon in the soldier's arsenal, his
physical attributes might be regarded in a similar
light. The much vaunted physical prowess of the
Gladiator and the collapse of Sir John Moore's
troops at Corunna are examples of the importance
of the physical dimension in human conflict. The