Understanding the Arguments Against Military Drill

Continuing my series on drill and ceremonies, this is the forth installment. Links to the previous:

1. Understanding the Definition and Types of Military Drill
2. Understanding the Purpose of Military Drill
3. Understanding the Benefits of Military Drill

Those who disagree with this article series will scoff, dismiss, and immediately jump on the logical fallacy ship and probably won’t even know they are doing it. Here are some arguments against the modern warfighter performing D&C today.

Yesterday, I addressed one logical fallacy, the non sequitur, that is most often used to justify one’s stance against the continuation of D&C in military training. Let’s explore more and see that they can be used on both sides of the argument.

The Logical Fallacies

1. Appeal to Tradition:
   1. This argument suggests that because drill and ceremonies has always been a part of military training, it should continue to be so, regardless of the relevance in modern warfare.
   2. Not my stance at all. See Benefits, above.
2. False Dichotomy: This argument presents a false choice between being an effective warfighter and adhering to drill and ceremonies. It implies that one cannot be both, which is not necessarily true.
3. Straw Man: This argument misrepresents the position of those who support drill and ceremonies by suggesting they believe these practices are the only way to achieve discipline and coordination (equaling lethality).
4. Ad Hominem:
   1. This argument attacks the character of those who support drill and ceremonies, rather than addressing the merits of the practice itself.
   2. This can also go the other way. It’s wholly unnecessary to malign those who have no concept of the relevance of D&C in the modern era.
5. Slippery Slope:
   1. This argument suggests that if drill and ceremonies is not performed, it will lead to a complete breakdown of discipline and effectiveness in the military, which is an exaggerated consequence.
   2. Also, not my stance. There will be a breakdown, but I do not believe it will be total. See Benefits, above.

In this installment I gave various logical fallacies related to the argument about the relevance of drill and ceremonies in modern military training. The argument for D&C is not that we need to have every member of every service in formation and marching every single day. That would not be an effective use of time. We do, however, need to make time on a consistent regular basis to ensure we are maintaining standards.

The next installment is Understanding the History and Current Problems with Military Drill.