Deep tradition makes a formation difficult to break because its members carry an internal standard of endurance and conduct. The same inherited script can become a vulnerability if an adversary constructs a situation resembling one of the unit's celebrated feats. A force reacting by instinct may charge into a prepared ambush in order to reproduce the expected heroic behavior. Responsibility therefore falls on officers and NCOs to step outside the emotional moment and ask what is actually happening. Institutional memory creates combat power only when leadership remains reflective.
Notable Point · 1:25:30-1:26:47
Tradition can be turned into an ambush
An enemy can present a familiar heroic situation and hope a tradition-bound force reacts predictably instead of reassessing the circumstances.