re: #7 Obdicut

Que? I mean, things like the Sacred Band aside, what on earth is her rationale in general?

The rationale is that if sentiment within a unit is fractured, and loyalty to specific individuals conflicts with loyalty to the “band of brothers” as a whole, that unit will not fight well.

This isn’t entirely ridiculous. Patton once made a sizable military blunder, blinded by his personal desire to save his son in law. He put family ahead of military duty. If family ties could sway Patton from his duty, can we be confident that most men would not be so swayed?

On the other hand, during WW2, many Soviet officers had “front wives” on their staff. It didn’t seem to prevent them from beating the Germans. But on the other other hand, the “front wives” were in staff positions, not at the pointy end of the spear.

We don’t really know, as empirical fact or by a near perfect match to events from history, how this will play out. From the perspective of the left, we know what the answer ought to be, and therefore we know what it is. But that logic is suspect.

From the perspective of the right, we know what the answer ought to be, and therefore we know what it is. But that logic, too, is suspect.

We’ll just see.