Sorry I know this is a bit off topic but I dont participate in a Non planescape D&D forum and had a incite from reading Races of the Dragon
It talks about good and neutral kobold communitys
Any ideas how such a community can wage war, since telling your soldiers to cast themselves away like they are nothing is not a good act.
It's all in how you frame the issue. If you're going to say that laying down your life in glorious battle is not a good act in and of itself, then the Ysgardians beg to differ. Is a war of aggression motivated purely by territorial gain evil, or is it the divine right of kings? What gives the Harmonium the right to conquer whole worlds, and drive whole races to extinction on Ortho?
But at any rate, I feel like massed, human wave attacks (quote-unquote 'human') are more of a goblin thing than a kobold thing. Kobolds are described as fighting defensively, and very conservatively-- traps, trained monsters, ranged weapons, attacking from ambush, delaying tactics, and so on. Being lawful, they put the good of the tribe first, but they don't usually have resources to spare. It would make sense if that also includes manpower. Plenty of kobolds are probably going to die even without spending them needlessly.
Good and neutral kobold communities likely fight much the same way, since it's more a matter of circumstances than alignment. They probably try to at least be more self-sufficient, since constantly stealing from your neighbours while entrenching yourself in an underground bunker is pretty much an unspoken declaration of war. (It becomes a lot less unspoken after you steal your first baby and burn the village to the ground.)
If a good or neutral tribe was less insular and became accepted by other races, however, then that opens up a lot of other possibilities, from noble kobold knights mounted on gelatinous steeds, to defensive perimeters reinforced with humane-- or not-- traps. Just the idea of kobolds with time enough to fully hone their craft, be they good, evil, or otherwise, and I imagine giant, rickety Skavenesque war machines (a la 'The Doomwheel') would show up on the battlefield sooner or later.
Sometimes its pragmatic to wage war. If the community as a whole is going to benefit, and the leaders have the community's support, then war is not an evil act. It becomes evil through the D&D equivalent of human rights abuses, and as you mention, through treating the soldiers like expendable pawns. Careful and conscientious generals care about the soldiers they command so they won't waste their lives. but there are good reasons for soldiers to die sometimes.
Soldiers know what the risks are of their lifestyle. You have to fight. Eventually you will die.
In the mean time you get paid, and at least you are not a commoner.
Non-evil warfare also involves finding ways to resolve the conflict once the core objectives are met in a way that doesn't just mean exterminating and enslaving every last member of the enemy. You need to win with some grace and respect, and show mercy where its due.
Also some foes like CE barbarians, fiends, aberrations and most undead are intrinsically opposed to you and need to be dealt with appropriately. Except in the most unusual and bizarre circumstances, you never have to be merciful to illithids or obyriths. Sometimes you really don't have to pull the punches. Just because you are Good doesn't mean you are stupid.