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I found this and your follow-up comments to be very interesting. I wonder if I could ask you to comment on the psychology of men who do this. Do they feel fear?

I found this and your follow-up comments to be very interesting. I wonder if I could ask you to comment on the psychology of men who do this. Do they feel fear? Do they experience guilt or contrition? If so, how do they manage these feelings? I guess it’s neurological outliers who self-select for these jobs. Whilst I have met a few security contractors over the years, I’ve never had the courage to ask them about their motivations and inner experience. I also realize that hit squads like this are a world away from the more regular experience of arranging security patrols of oil installations, but it’s apecifically these more atypical people I wonder about.

arminiusreturns 8y ago
Of course these types of people feel fear. Some more than others, some less. It depends on their training, and temperament, and the situation. Even in a combat unit it's highly likely at least one person is going to curl up into a ball and piss themselves while crying. Then there are the guys who run through a hail of bullets... I think of it like Heraclitus; “Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.” In the modern context, what equals out those numbers is largely training and muscle memory, so that once your adrenaline kicks in and your brain isn't fully functioning, you still know what needs to be done and can do it almost on autopilot. That can turn more of the 80 into the 9, so to speak, which is what a modern military needs.
- GreeniFi 8y ago
  I love that Heraclitus quote and it’s interesting to hear how training turns “targets” into “fighters”. However, I still wonder about the psychology of the mercenary asassin. Who are they, what stories do they tell themselves to justify their actions and does the 160k buy them peace of mind?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]

arminiusreturns 8y ago

Of course these types of people feel fear. Some more than others, some less. It depends on their training, and temperament, and the situation. Even in a combat unit it's highly likely at least one person is going to curl up into a ball and piss themselves while crying. Then there are the guys who run through a hail of bullets... I think of it like Heraclitus; “Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.” In the modern context, what equals out those numbers is largely training and muscle memory, so that once your adrenaline kicks in and your brain isn't fully functioning, you still know what needs to be done and can do it almost on autopilot. That can turn more of the 80 into the 9, so to speak, which is what a modern military needs.

GreeniFi 8y ago
I love that Heraclitus quote and it’s interesting to hear how training turns “targets” into “fighters”. However, I still wonder about the psychology of the mercenary asassin. Who are they, what stories do they tell themselves to justify their actions and does the 160k buy them peace of mind?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]