Fragging is a garrison activity, not a front line action

From Books: Fragging by Jason Manning.  A book review with the subheading Why U.S. Soldiers Assaulted Their Officers in Vietnam.

Another piece of evidence against the conventional view of fragging is that most fraggings did not actually happen near the front lines. Rather, most fragging occurred in the rear areas, where danger from the enemy was the least: “All of the fragging incidents cited in this study occurred in garrison or garrison-type environments” (Lepre, p.33).

Garrison has less danger, but it also has more discipline. In his reporting on soldiers in Afghanistan, journalist Sebastian Junger describes the disdain soldiers have for the “petty tyrannies of garrison life.” The front brings greater danger, but also greater autonomy. In the outposts and firebases the men are relatively free from “chickenshit” discipline and martinet officers. The things they do have to do are all important in the sense of helping them and their friends survive.

Junger also reports a belief among soldiers that good garrison soldiers make lousy combat soldiers, and vice versa. The sort of guys who do well with autonomy and danger tend to chaff at the spit-and-polish obedience.