We constantly made decisions that increased the risk to ourselves while trying to minimize the risk to civilians. That is not a mindset of a sociopath.
Noun:
A feeling of guilt or moral scruple that follows the doing of something bad: "spend the money without compunction". A pricking of the conscience.
We do it for real, time and time again, with no other motivation but pay, leave, and the chance to brutalise whomever we deem the “enemy”.
scary.
People don't sign up for the military because they really think it's sweet and fitting to die for one's country, they sign up for the military because it's how they get into college or out of their shitty 2000 person town.
I dated a girl who served, one day when I was ranting about recruiters working high schools and the unfairness of being recruited after exposure to 12 years government hype, and she said to me "You know, the army is what got me out of <podunk town>"
Now, many high schoolers do not consider this to be an option for them (i.e., not the "learning" type). Figuring out why that happens to so many people is a harder question.
Edit: what bothers me about the article is that it seems unlikely that a true sociopath would describe himself in these terms.
The problem is that leadership isn't a consistent action. Very capable and honest leaders can be sullied by PTSD (one symptom of which is lack of empathy) given enough combat experience.
However the degree this affects a unit, and the starting point, is primarily due to the leader. Especially in combat units.