This one line says it all... to me anyways

“I don’t know if the student understands emotions, or what rage feels like. It seems to me no person who has truly experienced the full impact of their own emotions would ever go near a gun.”[/QUOTE]

I sort of agree with that as most soldiers do what needs to be done without emotions.

Emotions cloud the mind and fear is ice in one's veins.

 

I don't think that soldiers and LEOs who deal deadly force to their opponents are emotionless, (maybe the sociopaths among them perhaps), just that the better ones among them hold those emotions in check, until what is needed to be done passes. A certain amount of fear and anxiety are needed to sharpen the senses, and quicken reactions....of course, over fearfulness can freeze one into indecision and inaction.

Dealing with those emotions is an essential component of training drills and combat exercises. it underscores the important necessity for realism in training including exposure to stress and confusion under demanding and complex conditions. Emotionless automatons don't probably make for the best soldiers, but soldiers who are adaptive, can think and make decisions quickly in the face of natural emotional responses are probably better suited to mission accomplishment and survival, in the moment, and long term after the event.