Experiences of combat and the type of warfare experienced also bolstered the extant loyalties of black Rhodesian soldiers. It is clear from the testimony of black veterans that they felt that they had triumphed during their clashes with the liberation forces, and this informed their understanding that they were militarily on top throughout the conflict. Although not strategically accurate, these perceptions reflected the unique perspective of elite infantry troops. escalation of the war altered the perception black troops held of the liberation forces. ir exposure to incidents of guerrilla violence against civilians, and the widespread targeting of off-duty soldiers and their families, meant that many came to despise elements of the liberation armies. This also served to solidify a notion that the RAR and the wider army were on the ‘right side’ of the war, and that they protecting civilians against the violence of guerrillas. In this manner their regimental loyalties were boosted, as they came to deem the RAR a more moral actor than guerrilla forces.

As the Army found itself caught up in debates about a ‘kinder, gentler military’, Army leaders reacted by emphasising cultural change. Part of this cultural shift came from the bottom up, as commanders in elite combat units showed a new interest in the psychology of killing and brought in consultants to lecture their instructors on how to more effectively inculcate a willingness to kill. Much of it came from the top, though. General Eric Shinseki controversially mandated that all soldiers would wear black berets as their working headdress to symbolise a new Army culture, and he commissioned a study on the ‘warrior ethos’ and begin to enshrine that ethos into Army doctrine and training. This warrior ethos – the idea that all soldiers are de facto heroic and potential Rangers – had the goal of democratizing notions of soldiering within the Army. However, not only did the warrior ethos require all soldiers to psychologically orientate themselves towards combat, but one of the unintended consequences of the decision may have been to help to put the American soldier a little higher on the pedestal of public opinion and inadvertently widen the gap between soldier and citizen.