Within the context of war, and sometimes unfortunately outside of it, it can be easy for someone to dehumanize opposing individuals as means of easing one’s own cognitive dissonance and justifying their actions.  As LT McDonough described during war the sight of the dead enemy is equated with triumph “The enemy falls, lies there lifeless, his gaping corpse a mockery to the valiant fight he made. Your own emotions withdraw, replaced by a flow of relief and exhilaration, because he is dead and not you”.  This “flow” caused by victory, which is most likely a combination of dopamine followed by epinephrine (adrenaline), can become associated with the reward centers in the human brain, and has the potential to manifest into an addiction.  As the method of survival is equated to the destroying the enemy, and this is supported by a feeling that is biologically copacetic, our morals and ethics must come into play to remind ourselves that the enemy is human as well. As LT McDonough became frustrated by the POW, it was incredibly powerful to see Killigan to step in and correct his leader, in order to ultimately maintain the standards of honorable and moral living the Army works to instill within us.  This reminds McDonough that the loyalty the POW showed to the Vietnamese, is from the same vein of which he has loyalty for his own Army, and that as a leader he must practice proper treatment of the enemy.  I believe when he restates this to the young LT, it is in order to remind himself and the LT that each and every man fighting this war no matter the side is human, as well as ensure the Army standard is being upheld.  While conflict might urge one to enact upon what would feel most right during the situation, whether from a moral “eye for an eye” or biological standpoint, as leaders we must override these temptations and calculate several steps ahead to ensure our decision will have an end result that we and those impacted by it can live with.