Why death symbols should be banned in the military

Published on Linked In May 9th 2018

Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, Chief of the Australian Army, recently issued a minute ordering the ban on soldiers using death style imagery. This ban has been met with condemnation by veterans and accusations of political correctness by commentators but is there any research evidence for such a ban?

In his statement, Campbell referred to the Army’s values and ethics and wrote, “Such symbology… is always ill-considered and implicitly encourages the inculcation of an arrogant hubris and general disregard for the most serious responsibility of our profession, the legitimate and discriminate taking of life.”

Is this true? Surely our soldiers are well trained and of strong enough character to uphold their responsibilities and not to be swayed by simple imagery? A rational view would support this, however, social psychologists present a different perspective where moral judgement is not an isolated single act but rather an ongoing process spread out over time and different situations. Ph…