The idea that soldiers should be afraid. That they should accept that they're afraid, is very latter day for the most part.

Normally, you'd talk about courage and overcoming fear before you started talking about acknowledging that you're afraid.

It's the kind of narrative that works well with much other modern thinking about not making people feel uncomfortable or inadequate.

Don't think those attempts to comfort people usually do them all that much good. It doesn't help to have people around you see you as weak or fragile.

Even child soldiers in some scenarios, have managed to reintegrate into civilian life when they were treated as still being normal and good as opposed to broken and dangerous.

The instinct to comfort doesn't always work as intended.