It's been a while, but I was just referencing the events that occur in the book. They are an effective force, but they aren't actualized individuals. The primer harmed them.
They have formed into an effective military force because the Primer is designed to teach children how to deal with their life situation, and it doesn't fail at that job even when the life situation is extreme (like how the Primer understands that Nell is being abused and tries very hard to get her out of the abusive environment). The Mouse Army are in the middle of a war where WMDs are being used and they're all little girls who can't rely on anyone around them for help, so the Primer teaches them to form not just effective soldiers but an effective military force, in order to secure their escape from the war. Once they're out of the extreme situation, it will presumably teach them more normally once more, just like Nell's Primer adjusted back once Nell was out of the abusive environment.
I'm not exactly going to bat for child soldiering here, but I find the idea that the Primer harmed them very strange. The Primer saved them from dying in a horrific war where they had no allies and successfully got them out of that war.
They may have lived, but they turned into autonomous extensions of the Primer. Nell was the only real person, so of course the Mouse Army responded to her. As the other commenter said -- the mouse army were not actualized individuals.
I don't agree with that characterisation of events. The Mouse Army grew up in extreme conditions, and the Primer tried its hardest to give them the skills and organisation they needed to get out of those conditions, because otherwise they would die. I see no reason to believe that the Primer would not continue to raise them properly now that they're out of that situation, just like the Primer returned to normal for Nell once it had successfully gotten her out of an abusive environment. They're not slaves or broken people.
From my perspective, that characterization has taken on an even more interesting turn now that I have read through a history of Chinese martial arts, and its role throughout the centuries and modernization. Regardless of whether the project succeeded or failed, that subplot was very much in line with the themes and patterns of Chinese history.
