Section 4, An Anatomy of Killing: All Factors Considered: Chapter 1, The Demands of Authority: Milgram and the Military Summary and Analysis

Grossman directly addresses the matter of the responsibility of those officers who have issued orders to kill but have not ever participated in the killing themselves. What they have managed to express are feelings of guilt towards those who have committed the killing. If a higher-ranking person kills, often those who had refused to comply before will fall in line and obey the order, especially when in close proximity.