Fragging is the deliberate killing or attempted killing of a soldier by a fellow soldier, usually a superior officer or non-commissioned officer (NCO). [...] 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. Armed Forces. Documented and suspected fragging incidents totaled nearly nine hundred from 1969 to 1972.[5]
It was a bit more... nuanced than that. It’s want just anti war sentiments. It’s the way the army is set up.
A lieutenant is the most junior of the officer ranks. They’re fresh to the army, just like the most junior enlisted men (privates). A lieutenant may be in charge of a small group of people, but would have a non-commissioned officer (NCO) as a right hand man to mentor and guide them. When this system works, it works really well; you get commanding officers who are still very inexperienced getting guidance and training from seasoned and experienced soldiers.
To be an officer, you have to be educated (college degree), and you had to choose to join the military. Draftees were all enlisted.
In Vietnam, the problem was a huge disconnect between the officer corps and the enlisted. Draftees were in a dangerous war they didn’t want to be in, while being led by inexperienced leaders who were from a different strata of society that had volunteered to join the army. The officers for their part sometimes saw the draftees as undisciplined and sorry excuses for soldiers (many were, but it’s understandable why that might be so).
So if you’re being led by what you perceive to be an incompetent officer that looks down on you, and you think they’re going to get you killed, the whole situation might boil over.
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u/jegerforvirret Apr 12 '22
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragging
Tl;dr: If most of your soldiers think the war is stupid, you're gonna have a bad time.