{"id":2411,"date":"2010-07-21T10:22:50","date_gmt":"2010-07-21T16:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sgtbrandi.com\/?page_id=2411"},"modified":"2010-09-06T09:52:46","modified_gmt":"2010-09-06T15:52:46","slug":"understanding-the-causes-of-combat-trauma","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/sgtbrandi.com\/?page_id=2411","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Causes of Combat Trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"

1.\u00a0 The<\/strong> Primal Side<\/strong> of human nature is the uncivilized savage in us, the unmerciful, non-compassionate beast that is unleashed through operant conditioning in Boot Camp and bought to full fruition in battle. This Beast is a key player in our survival of War, yet can destroy or end our lives when we are no longer on the battlefield.\u00a0 We return from war as two distinct people<\/strong> in the same body. And controlling this killing, blood lusting side of us is critical if we are to survive and adapt to civilian life.<\/p>\n

2. Making the<\/strong> First Kill<\/strong>; when losing the first brother or Sister. At that moment we are baptized in the blood of battle.\u00a0 Not in the blood of our enemies, but in the blood of those we love more than life itself.\u00a0 It has been said “We have then paid the boat keeper for passage across the river Styx, the River of Woe\u201d to another world, from which we can never return, ever.\u00a0 But in so doing we are given the Gifts of War<\/strong> (listed in your book) and yet, now stand with our boots firmly planted in two worlds,<\/strong> two realities, two dimensions of thought.\u00a0 The Warrior World<\/strong> of black and white; of honor, discipline, self-sacrifice.\u00a0 And the Civilian World<\/strong> of gray, and little or no honor, which we for the most part we loathe.\u00a0 We must adapt our combat skills to live in these two worlds if we are to survive.\u00a0 Many do not.\u00a0 These worlds do not mesh and left unaddressed, the conflict between them rips us apart moment to moment, for the rest of our lives.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>3. The<\/strong> Warrior Trust Bond<\/strong> that is established in battle, goes beyond the forces of nature. Our unconditional love for our fellow Warrior is stronger than life itself.\u00a0 It goes beyond the love of family, of children, of country and of God, and we would gladly die to protect our True Friends<\/strong>.\u00a0 We learn the true meaning of love and friendship, and that becomes the standard we live by for the rest of our lives.\u00a0 You can see how this dooms any relationships except with other Warriors.\u00a0 And to be Outcast<\/strong> from this family unit is worse than death itself.\u00a0 Troops will not risk abandonment from the only life they love, the only friends they have, and would rather completely break down than admit weakness, which is to be shamed in the eyes of your fellow Warriors.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> War Itself<\/strong>.\u00a0 To kill another Human Being changes the Killer; we as Warriors change dramatically inside.\u00a0 When we lose our Brothers (and now Sisters) we change dramatically inside.\u00a0 We feel the loss, the guilt over what we could have done and didn’t do. We feel survivor guilt that we are alive and our Brothers are not, and we long for death that we may be by their side once again.\u00a0 We desire the opiate Combat Adrenalin that is stronger than the desire to survive at times.\u00a0 We feel the pain of loss and of abandonment by the country we thought we were fighting for, and when we return, we are often treated like outcasts.\u00a0 We loathe politics and politicians and for the most part civilians who do not or don’t want to make the attempt to understand.\u00a0 And, we are witness to and\/or take part in the atrocities of the battlefield.<\/p>\n

So then, the Warrior fights many fronts.\u00a0 There is the Higher Mind against the Primal Lower brain; the angelic against the demonic in constant conflict.\u00a0 There the battle between Two Worlds, one we love and one we hate, again in constant conflict.\u00a0 There is the longing to be with our Sacred Military Family, instinctively our clan, our Tribe and we live in terror of being cast out of it.\u00a0 And then there is the impact of the atrocities of war itself.<\/p>\n

To summarize: <\/strong>Combat Troops simultaneously face Five Major Psychological Fronts!!<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. The Constant Conflict with the Beast<\/em>\u2026higher vs. lower Brain<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. The Consequences of Killing<\/em>\u2026moral dissonance<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. The Constant Conflict of two Worlds<\/em>\u2026Warrior vs. Civilian<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. The Warrior Trust Bond<\/em>\u2026 Threat of being outcast\u2026forced to deny their own humanity<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. War itself<\/em>\u2026witness to atrocities, committing atrocities, loss, guilt, survivor guilt, need for adrenaline, desire to continue killing, anger\/rage, paranoia, distrust, betrayal.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And through all this, Warriors\u00a0 asks only to be loved, to be given the\u00a0 acknowledgment and confirmation that they were justified on the battle field, that their bothers died for a noble cause, and they long to feel welcomed in the society they fought to defend.\u00a0 This however, does not often happen.\u00a0 All too often, Warriors can only depend upon fellow Warriors.\u00a0 Most are lost when returning from war, and far too many forgotten.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Considerations when working with our Combat Troops from the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The following are what Troops \u201cmay\u201d be thinking\/feeling:<\/p>\n

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    1. Thoughts of killing the enemy<\/li>\n
    2. Guilt over killing women and\/or children<\/li>\n
    3. Grieving over the Loss of friends<\/li>\n
    4. Waves of Rage\/Uncontrolled anger; set into motion by non lethal triggers, such as being cut off in traffic, someone being rude, etc.<\/li>\n
    5. Desire for that Adrenaline Rush of Combat, which moves them into reckless actions, taking chances.<\/li>\n
    6. Wanting to continue killing\/looking for a victim for self assurance and self-recognition. Longing for a life threatening situation; Pushing it to that point.<\/li>\n
    7. Lack of focus due to intermittent or sustained flashbacks (vivid memories of painful experiences).<\/li>\n
    8. Feeling abandoned when back stateside<\/li>\n
    9. Feeling very low self esteem, due feeling odd, no one understands, no one cares.<\/li>\n
    10. Need to cut the pain with alcohol and or drugs.<\/li>\n
    11. Feeling numb inside to all emotions, unable to communicate feelings.<\/li>\n
    12. Not comfortable with human touch.<\/li>\n
    13. Not trusting anyone still in the \u201cCan\u2019t tell who the enemy is\u201d mode.<\/li>\n
    14. Can\u2019t get close to my wife, kids or family anymore, \u201cdo I take a chance on new people?\u201d<\/li>\n
    15. Am hyper-vigilant, waiting for a mortar round to go off any second.<\/li>\n
    16. Can\u2019t drive my car, afraid of IEDs\/Ambushes which adds to low self esteem.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      More depth on topics:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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      • Primal Side of Human Nature:<\/strong> For many Troops, the \u201cBeast\u201d may not be under control.\u00a0 Some call this the lizard brain in humans.\u00a0 This is not difficult to evaluate, since all the base emotions linked to violence such as anger, hate, lust, dominance, killing, need for adrenaline are all resident in the lower brain. When someone reacts unreasonably, chances are the lower brain is gaining ground for that moment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • The Warrior World and the Civilian World:<\/strong> Understanding the conflict of these two worlds is important in shaping behavior.\u00a0 The Warrior World of black and white, of honor and discipline is obvious to most civilians.\u00a0 It\u2019s the military way of dealing with life.\u00a0 Especially if the Primal Side is dominant , the military approach may be the best (if only) approach to instruct through.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n
          • Killing<\/strong>:<\/strong> The emotional impact of killing another human being set off tremendous emotions at all levels of cognition.\u00a0 Especially the issues of killing women and children.\u00a0 Killing creates what is called a moral dissonance.\u00a0 That is, a conflict\u00a0 between what a person knows to be wrong and what they just did that is supposed to be right\u2026but feels wrong and they know it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
              \n
            • The Desire to Continue Killing:<\/strong> Most all Warriors feel Guilt <\/strong>over not having killed enough of the enemy.\u00a0 This is because if they kill the enemy, then the enemy won\u2019t kill their friends.\u00a0 Problem is, it feels good to kill the enemy (positive reinforcement) and the Warrior likes it.\u00a0 This leads to a desire to continue killing, and the need to establish who the enemy is.\u00a0 You can see how this leads to a very dark perspective. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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              • Guilt<\/strong>:<\/strong> Many Troops feel extreme guilt over making a decision that ended in the death or injury of a fellow Warrior. That is, things they could have done but didn\u2019t do, or the guilt over feeling they didn\u2019t have the ability to stop something that resulted tragically.\u00a0 Regardless of the reality of the situation, there is always the \u201cI should have done things differently\u201d.\u00a0 This is normal in most civilians, but compounded by multiple tours and repeated experiences by our Troops.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                  \n
                • Survivor Guilt:<\/strong> A specialized form of guilt, it stems from extreme Bonding with another human being.\u00a0\u00a0 Troops feel extremely guilty for being stateside while their unit is deployed.\u00a0 Even if they\u2019re out of active duty, they stay in touch with their old unit and buddies via the Internet.\u00a0 They feel responsible (guilty) to be alive when your friends are dead.\u00a0 Or why they didn\u2019t get \u201cHit\u201d when their friends did.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n