"To get promoted from the ranks to Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) you have to prove that you can command the respect of peers without recourse to the stripes on your arm."
He adds that joining the British armed forces is voluntary, so discipline cannot be coercive. This kind of discipline went out with the end of conscription into the National Service in the 1950s, he says.
"If you have to use coercive techniques for discipline you would find that your troops would all head for the exit".