The resentment directed from enlisted men toward older officers was exacerbated by generational gaps, as well as different perceptions of how the military should conduct itself. began to withdraw its military forces from Vietnam, some American enlisted men and young officers lost their sense of purpose for being in Vietnam, and the hierarchical relationship between enlisted men and their officers deteriorated. such as racism, drug abuse, and resentment toward authoritarian leaders. military reflected social problems and issues in the U.S. Armed Forces are, with a few salient exceptions, lower and worse than at any time in this century and possibly in the history of the United States." In 1971, a USMC colonel declared in the Armed Forces Journal that "The morale, discipline, and battle worthiness of the U.S. Morale plummeted among soldiers and marines. movement veterans protesting the Vietnam War. : 19–21 With troops reluctant to risk their lives in what was perceived as a lost war, fragging was seen by some enlisted men "as the most effective way to discourage their superiors from showing enthusiasm for combat". Secondly, racial tensions between white and black soldiers and marines increased after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. After the Tet Offensive in January and February 1968, the Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular in the United States and among American soldiers in Vietnam, many of them conscripts. The first known incidents of fragging in South Vietnam took place in 1966, but events in 1968 appear to have catalyzed an increase in fragging. Fragging was rare among Navy and Air Force personnel, who had less access to grenades and weapons than did soldiers and Marines. : 1, 19 Most fragging incidents were in the Army and Marine Corps. M18 Claymore mines and other explosives were also occasionally used in fragging, as were firearms, although the term, as defined by the military during the Vietnam War, applied only to the use of explosives to kill fellow soldiers. Grenades were untraceable to an owner and did not leave any ballistic evidence. The prevalence of fragging was partially based on the ready availability of explosive weapons such as fragmentation hand grenades. However, the practice of fragging seems to have been relatively uncommon in the U.S. Soldiers have killed colleagues since the beginning of armed conflict, with many documented instances throughout history. Documented and suspected fragging incidents using explosives totaled 904 from 1969 to 1972, while hundreds of fragging incidents using firearms took place, but were hard to quantify as they were indistinguishable from combat deaths and poorly documented.įragging should not be confused with the unintentional killing and/or wounding of comrades and/or allied personnel such incidents are referred to as friendly fire. The high number of fragging incidents in the latter years of the Vietnam War was symptomatic of the unpopularity of the war with the American public and the breakdown of discipline in the U.S. The term fragging now encompasses any deliberate killing of military colleagues. military personnel coined the word during the Vietnam War, when such killings were most often committed or attempted with a fragmentation grenade, to make it appear that the killing was accidental or during combat with the enemy. įragging is the deliberate or attempted killing of a soldier, usually a superior, by a fellow soldier. Marines in the Vietnam War, used in many fragging incidents. For other uses, see Frag (disambiguation). For the Battlestar Galactica episode, see Fragged ( Battlestar Galactica).
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