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Originally Posted by Bluesman
I have never received training in spotting symptoms of PTSD. We are supposed to refer any concerns that we have up the cahin. But frankly, I think we need to at least get junior officers and senior NCOs into the ID business. I know my role, and it's not therapist nor counselor, so I do not think that would be called-for. But I'm the guy with the greatest amount of contact with my people; I should have a larger role in spotting the 'non-bleeing wound'.
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I received classes on battle fatigue both in OBC, OAC, and at CAS3. None of them were as detailed as the article I read but what I did like about the classes is they all emphasised the classic signs of negative battle fatigue (If I remeber it was called "combat stress"), put it in the proper perspective of being a naturural consequence of combat for a significant portion of the population, and talked about ways to remediate it when possible.
Battle fatigue is similar to anyones mental reaction to repeated trauma. I have never seen people that I served with suffer from battle fatigue but I did notice that the classic signs of battle fatigue could be seen in soldiers who spent a lot of time in the desert and were subjected to repeated shamals while living in tents or without real shelter. As the sound of the winds increased you saw the voices stop talking and the thousand mile stares start, especially among the youngest. When the shamal went away they went back to normal. You can see the same thing among people who weather severe hurricanes and become jittery during any storm. Ever meet someone who has been in multiple car accidents in a short span of time. It often takes them some time to again feel comfortable in a car. Combat is the same thing with a guaranteed return to the horror.