He did what was expected. Men like him did exist before he existed and exist after he died.
Just look to Syria, Iraq. The “militants”, ISIS, etc. Rule by Terror. Men do what is asked by them, if there is no limitation given, Men will do anything.
I suggest serving in a JVA near you for a 3-4 year sentence will help understand the world.
It doesn’t really matter what seat they are in: I have one lvl5 tanker with both the loader and gunner perks in the commander seat of my tank and both perks work just fine.