Does combat service make people hawks or doves?

[wimp]

On one hand, it exposes an individual to the nitty-gritty realities of war. On the other hand, it gives people a sense of camaraderie that some veterans say isn't comparable to anything else.

[Coldstream]

Depends on the person and their experiences.

If they lose friends in war it may make them horrified by the experience and not want it to happen to anyone else. This could make them an isolationist too in the right circumstances. Likewise if they spend time with the locals it may increase their empathy for them and therefore make them less inclined to fight them.

Alternatively losing friends in war might harden them against whoever they were at war with (whether it’s an ideology or nation) and more determined to see it defeated to avenge fallen comrades (or to ensure they didn’t die in vain). Also if they had bad experiences with the locals it may increase their dislike of them and make them more nationalistic. But that also depends on why the war if being fought, if the war is being fought to liberate/defend an oppressed people that they liked then that’s a reason to be more hawkish.

I suppose it also depends on why they signed up in the first place, if they signed up simply out of duty or patriotism they are probably more likely to be willing to become a dove or change their views in general. If they signed up due to a predisposition for violence then they will probably remain quite hawkish.