Quote:
|
Originally Posted by antelope
In general military studies find that ALL people suffer the effects of "battle fatigue", "shell shock", or "post traumatic stress" and that in general there is a well mapped and medically understood progression of mental breakdown that can be correlated with real hours spent in real combat.
|
Something is basically wrong in that assumption. I am yet to see such stress amongst my fellow men or troops, with kind of combat exposure that we have had.
Quote:
|
Some interesting thoughts on battle fatigue: Studies show that those with some combat but not a lot of combat tend to be the most mentally well adjusted. People with no combat experience tend to not take security and other safegards seriously. Those with some combat take these issues very seriously. With increasing combat however the safegards are taken less seriously and those with extreme hours of combat perform worse than those with no previous combat experience when it comes to soldier safegards. It would appear that "combat experience" appears to be of much value among soldiers new to combat but it appears to actually be a negative to soldier performance in time (not what is commonly believed). Those with an extreme amount of combat tend to be a danger to themselves and those around them. This group also is over represented when it comes to valor awards, which appears to some extent a result of fatalism that inhibits once instincts at self-preservation.
|
That is true, but it is not battle fatigue. It may be that some things just become second nature while in that environment.
Quote:
|
Extreme levels of combat: I am not special. Death is no longer random. Everyone will die. (These soldiers are heavily represented in the ranks of long war Medal of Honor winners. They tend to have no regard for their own lives when moving on the battlefield. They ignore even basic soldier safety skills. Few people live to this point. Those that do usually end of suffering "nervous breakdowns" or "shell shock". People at this point best serve the military in positions where they no longer face or are less likely to face actual enemy fire like in TOCs).
|
I don't agree. All that is required that such people be given a non-combat posting for a short tenure, to ease them and put them back with their units thereafter.