Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Friendly fire

If you're ever in a position of military command and you start hearing people talk about "fragging", it's time to watch your back. The term was coined during the Vietnam War when American troops were killing their own commanders so often, a verb was required. Of course, it could also have had something to do with the weapon of choice in these attacks - the hard-to-trace fragmentation grenade. Fragging can be the killing of any superior to the murder of a soldier's direct commander to avoid combat.
The good news is that times change - and fragging apparently hasn't been a common issue since the American's invaded Iraq and Afghanistan with only one soldier charged with killing his commanding officer. And the reason for this dramatic downturn? Officials suggest it's to do with that today's modern military is made up of volunteers rather than conscripts.
But fear not - fragging still lives ... It's used as a replacement term for "killing" in video games - suggesting that it's actually not killing at all - virtually.

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