Quality report- challenge coins

[rjmacs]

ztirffritz wrote:
[quote=testcase]
I've never been able to figure out the purpose of "challenge coins" other the than to make money for the person selling them. :dunno:

See the link that I shared.
From that link:

Avery Trufelman wrote:

When these coins get given out, they are a physical reminder of the fact that the military is not some faceless monolithic structure. The coins show that the military is an organization made of human beings.

These statements confused me, because the purpose of a collective symbol like this is to minimize individual differences and emphasize a shared identity. This is something the military does excellently, because unit cohesion depends on prioritizing the group over the individual (including the self). What makes the military most effective is that, when the pressure is on, is can become a "faceless monolithic structure," focused on the objective and unconcerned with the distinctions between its members.