A question on morale

[Lester222]

While reading blogs and articles I've came to wonder about the following:
How does morale actually affect the efficiency of a military operation these days? This question goes especially to the members of DU who have served in the military. I get the impression, that the right wing likes to focus on morale and how protests may possibly have a negative impact on morale. I see how in the past morale could mean everything in a battle, but I would assume that in modern days morale isn't such a big issue anymore and equipment and economic strenght is what decides the outcome of a war. I'd be interested to hear some oppinions.

[mmonk]

1. I didn't serve though my father was a veteran

but I think morale is generally related to the missions and accomplishment or success and not protests.

[CarbonDate]

2. Speaking as an active duty NCO:

Morale has little or nothing to do with the current political climate. It has everything to do with having a clear mission and being able to accomplish it. It's the "job well done" type of feeling, except with lives on the line.

If we fail at our mission, or else are given tasks which are either so ill-defined, superfluous, or unrealistic as to set us up for failure, then morale tends to go down. In other words, morale is a direct result of leadership's actions, not an outside factor beyond leadership's control.

[Lester222]

3. I see...

So a low morale is the result of frustration emerging from unrealistic goals. Thanks.

[madokie]

4. maybe its just me but I seen in a matter of days on ariving in country that this war, VN

was not what I was led to believe it was, that they, Vietnamese, were a threat to me and my family or our country. So when I did hear of protest of the Vietnam war it actually raised my moral not lessoned it. because by then, as these kids today surely do, I knew it wasn't right. The moral they, the warmongers, are talking about is their own not the troops in harms way but they don't want to tell you that.
just saying