There's a reason, why it is useful to have disciplined soldiers - it saves lives on the battlefield.
That's not to say, that you want drones. It just helps the group (not each individual soldier) if - at times - everyone just does what he/she is told to do.
Sure we do--remote-operated variety, please. ;)
Increasingly, wars are won by geeks who think independently and subvert conventional authority. That was almost as true in WWII as it is today, arguably all the way back to ancient Greece.
If you find yourself in a situation where (as run4yourlives put it) you're the guy who has to man a machine gun to cover your company's retreat, you are indeed a victim: not of the enemy's actions, but of your own leadership's incompetence -- or worse, treason. You have made a monstrous mistake, one that you will have had many opportunities to avoid.
It's interesting to read this article back-to-back with this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21768668
War is a racket. Avoid wars, if possible. If you can't avoid them, don't be cannon fodder, and resist anyone's attempt to treat you that way. This policy scales remarkably well.
Pity this article has such poor examples. Like the guys who hit each other with their helmets, or the one with the ice cream on his head.