War can alter personalities through trauma in forms broader and more complicated than a single stereotype of post-traumatic stress. Those who issue orders can also bear a psychological cost, even when they do not face violence directly. Some leaders may be indifferent, but ordinary commanders can carry the knowledge that their decisions sent people to probable death. Mountbatten's reluctance to lose people he knew counts here as a limited redeeming quality and as evidence that military necessity did not remove the human cost of command.
Notable Point · 1:28:25-1:30:40
High-risk orders also burden the commanders
Commanders who authorize necessary operations may also carry the knowledge that volunteers will probably die.