ABSTRACT
Most military history has been the record or analysis of campaigns, leaders, strategy, tactics, weapons, and logistics. The process of familiarizing recruits with the military's mores and preparing them to perform their duties, like the process of recruitment, has two dimensions: the goals and policies of the military trainers, and the effects that the process has on the trainees. The military reinforces training with disciplinary codes and leadership methods to ensure that missions are accomplished. Military socialization is not limited to basic training or the service academies, of course. New and old military histories are more difficult to distinguish when it comes to studies of combat; nonetheless, one distinction exists: The better analyses of combat have explored its nature from the perspective of the individual soldier as well as from that of the commander.
