Understanding the behavior of men in combat has been the subject of countless studies of both a psychological and sociological nature. At the heart of all these studies is the question: What do men experience when they fight and what are the various factors which determine their ultimate behavior in a combat situation? It will be the purpose of this research to examine some of the theories and supporting experimental evidence which relate to these questions. The paper will consider such questions as what is the relationship between the soldier’s ideological understanding of the war and his performance in combat; the relationship between the strength of various social groupings both within and outside of the military and how that strength affects the soldier in combat; the importance of understanding how the hierarchical nature of the armed forces …