Questions & Answers

From an Old Warrior Perspective

This section of the website is for “Direct Input” from Warriors, Families of Warriors, Loved ones of Warriors, and anyone who wants to ask Questions about Warriors. You can ask anything you want about any topic; about killing, survivor guilt, guilt, loss, adapting to society, combat adrenaline, family abuse, substance abuse, suicide, homicide and anything that’s causin pain in your brain-housing-group.

I’m gonna start the ball rolling with a few common questions. You take it from here. This will be a weekly (maybe) chat. But if you need to talk to me sooner, call, write, or email me at any time. My contact intel is all over this website.

One word of caution: I’m not gonna sugar-coat anything or bullshit anyone. We’ve had enough of that already. So you may not like the answers, but they will be the brutal truth.

Now…Let’s Talk!

Question: Why do I have what shrinkers call Psychological Training for Superior Discipline (PTSD)? What Warriors call, Combat Trauma or Combat Stress.
Answer: This ain’t rocket science: You don’t spend every damn day for 12 to 15 months thinkin “I may die this day”; you don’t watch your true Friends get body-bagged or blown apart; you don’t kill other human beings (including women and children) and not feel like you’ve just been spin-kicked in the head. If you have emotions, if you are a human being, then you have definitely been psychologically wounded. That is, you’ve got a round stuck in your chamber and you need to talk about this shit with someone. Another Warrior will do, but better yet, if it’s a qualified combat trauma counselor.

Question: Why does my son, daughter, spouse, or loved one, seem so different after being deployed to a combat zone in Afghanistan and/or Iraq?
Answer: Like it or not, after going to War, your loved one IS NOW a different person. They are normal for what they’ve been through, but rest assured, they have changed…forever. They have experience the horrors of War, maybe been witness to, or participated in atrocities (extreme cruelty). And this shit changes you forever. This is War. So you as a loved one will have to deal with it. You can love your Warrior unconditionally, help them to get help, be patient or like in so many cases, abandon them due to fear, shock and ignorance.

Question: Why do I as a Warrior feel so violated and betrayed?
Answer: You’ve just lost your innocence; you see the world as it truly is now. And, you feel like you just got the Green Weenie. In other words, you clearly see the “Whys” of War, but that doesn’t make it easier to deal with the pains of War. This feeling of being betrayed by your government and society in general, takes a good bit of time and talkin over; to not make you hate everyone and everything. By accepting that “there’s the way it should be, and then there’s the way it is”, helps to control your rage and urge-to-kill anger. But this again is NORMAL. So cut yourself some slack.

Question: Why do I long to return to War, to my unit, my fellow Warriors?
Answer: What Warrior doesn’t? Hell, in War we have True Friends, willing to die for us without hesitation. We feel a sense of self-worth and truly live every moment in the present moment. We suffer and sacrifice for those we love more than life itself and feel cheated when they die and we don’t. This, my Friends is the True Warrior Code of Honor. Of course you want to return to battle with your Friends. That’s because they ARE your Friends and you want to watch over them and protect them. Shrinkers call this survivor guilt. I call it Honor. But we suffer the consequences of living the Code. Our lives may never be the same, but who the hell would ever want to return to who they were before walking off the battlefield? So be proud to be a Warrior and learn to adapt your military skill set to civilian society. It ain’t easy, but it’s doable.

Now that’s a start. Your turn to ask anything!

6 Responses to Questions & Answers

  1. Chris Snell says:

    Sgt Brandi,

    New to the website and have not seen the topics of PTSD (combat) approached quite like yours yet from another website. I’m a young Combat Veteran (Iraq and Afghanistan) and have dealt with my own perceptions, my own misery, my own way of dealing with it and I’ve fought through the tough times by myself, but not without support from the 6. I like the fact the a majority of the Vietnam Vets are trying to help our generation by informing us of the emotions that will come along in our journeys through the rest of our lives after combat. I have found a lot of self-help methods, one to include creating a Non-Profit Organization to help mentor Combat Veterans and Law Enforcement Officers. I was pointed out to your webpage by a friend and he said i would love it……I do.

    You’re not afraid to make us face reality……again. I truly believe this is the best method in order to fully recover from the effects of combat. Even though our memories will always remain, we will become stronger and we will become a valuable asset to society and our communities in which we were once involved before we left.

    Thank you for your service in the military and thank you for your service to guys like me,

    Chris Snell

  2. Billy Eugene Gilbert says:

    Well Brandi, it is fast crawling upon a year since I sent my first e-mail to you. My joy/tears/screaming rage/deadly silence and the dark thirty patrols have all been met with understanding and get the f*** over it SSgt. Gilbert. But all done with love and respect from one warrior to another. Kids I am available also 24/7/365/366 this year. E-mail: billygilbert49@yahoo.com. presently phone sleeping with the fishes, oh how I hate those things.

    Billy(Blackhawk) aka Billy Eugene Gilbert

    • Sgt. Brandi says:

      YO Blackhawk! Thank you for your help with our young Troops! They are the true Heroes of this nation, even if not all the nation knows that yet. At least us old Knuckle Draggers get the joke. Thanks Again Brother!! Sgt. B….OUT!

  3. Billy Eugene Gilbert says:

    Dagnbit,
    I have tried for the last thirteen years to get somebody to listen; Sarge I saw you on the Vid recently and they did not even wanted you to speak freely. Do they n0t understand the concept of your warriors need to be cleansed and welcomed back.
    Tears will help; but if these people do not understand GOD help us. I am a 100% for PTSD from VIETAM. But; I am only a drop in the the bucket compared to the children that I have interacted with at various VA Hospitals over the last six years
    We owe so much to this present generation; but they are about to be cornholed by our Elected officials as we are and still are. I wish they would remember the oath that each and everyone of us took to defend our nation.

  4. joseph broadaway says:

    How can I get ahold of Sgt Brandi directly? Need his help with something personal in nature but involves a unit. I talked about the book, ” a warriors guide to insanity” and my copy is floating around to a lot of guys. I need his guidance. I myself am a vet of the Iraq war.

    Trying to help these Warriors

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If you would like to discuss any challenges you may be dealing with, please contact me. (sgtabrandiusmc@gmail.com)