User blog comment:Ygrain/Between the Past and the Future 4: What Do You Want?/@comment-4220180-20121106162622/@comment-2228120-20121107114909

Er... I certainly cannot claim anything even remotely resembling battle experience but I do not think that the War hero background would leave Shepard without emotional scars. Those civillians he rallied to defend the colony must have been dying by dozens against the trained and ruthless enemy, not to mention the casualties in the rest of the population, and that all going on for hours of a desperate, exhausting fight - I'm pretty sure that War Hero has his own share of nightmares like everyone else.

Also, while the War Hero is a background that would probably boost Shepard best in the Alliance, I don't think it gives any special advantage to a Spectre. Spectres are a sort of space James Bonds, not really the military, in need of not just skill but will, resourcefulness and resilience, diplomtic skills and natural authority. These are the very features represented in all three backgrounds, AND in the N7 training. IMHO, it is not (just) that single heroic feat but achieving the N7 designation which makes Shepard a Spectre candidate.