Last week , while giving a talk on Implementation of Knowledge Management in the Armed Forces to a group of senior mangers from a public sector undertaking at the Center for Organizational Development [ COD] , Hyderabad , a participant asked me a very interesting question –
Why does a soldier give his life in battle ? Is it because he will be branded a coward if he does not do so when the situation demands it or is it a sacrifice willingly done for the sake of his country ?
We discussed this at two levels – Firstly at the personal level , it is the culmination of his training and conditioning during peace time soldiering and the main purpose for his enrolling with the Army . He would like to rise to the occasion and prove his worth in battle . At a higher plane , it is definitely a supreme sacrifice of his life to safeguard the security and territorial integrity of his country which he is privileged to represent in war .
I feel both the levels of motivation manifest together and not independently.