Considering we have a recent MoH recipient who beat to death a man with a rock, hand-to-hand combative programs are very relevant.
An Army War College study made waves a few years because it found:
> that many Army officers, after repeated exposure to the overwhelming demands and the associated need to put their honor on the line to verify compliance, have become ethically numb. As a result, an officer’s signature and word have become tools to maneuver through the Army bureaucracy rather than being symbols of integrity and honesty. [1]
In that light, if I were rolling out a combatives program I’d focus on the physical training and mental toughness benefits rather than the increased lethality in hand-to-hand combat.