A study of human factors that affect combat effectiveness on the battlefield.
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Author
Marashian, Charles D.
Date
1982-06Advisor
McGonigal, Richard A.
Creighton, John W.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study was designed to provide empirical data which
would show what relationship existed among nine human factors
and combat effectiveness of soldiers on the battlefield.
These human factors were: leadership, training, combat
experience, perception of survival possibility, acceptance
by the unit, fatigue, hunger, the ability to withstand fire,
and a soldier's belief in what he was doing was right. The
study focused upon a sample of fifty Army infantry battalion
commanders within the continental United States who had
served as small-unit combat leaders in Vietnam. Data was
obtained by the use of a mailed survey. The respondents
tended to agree that among all of the human factors, leadership
was strongly related to combat effectiveness. Among the
nine human factors, respondents felt that leadership and
training were the most important human factors relating to
combat effectiveness. The respondents commented extensively
that cohesion, training, belief in what they were doing, and
leadership were the main motivators behind the soldier's
willingness to fight.
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
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