Obligations to the Dead

The United States Military does not leave its bodies behind.

This is criminally stupid.

I clearly remember an ROTC military ethics class in which I got into an extended dispute with the instructor.

The correct answer for the "tactical problem" was to send soldiers into enemy fire to recover the body of the point man prior to a withdrawal.

I explained that I would order my men to withdraw from the kill zone and to leave the corpse behind. I was not going to risk the lives - Private Snuffy was dead and his family would have to grieve, with or without the shell.

The instructor railed about honor and dignity. I stood fast. Obligations are for the living. I was not about to write a family and tell them that they had to grieve too - all because I sent Private Smith out to grab a body.

Heh. I was never very good at accepting asinine policy.