Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
I didn't notice this as part of 60 Minutes, nor did I see it mentioned in any of these postings:
He had surrendered to Army Officials 2 weeks ago
The most obvious thing about his story is that his entire life of lessons learned, and his Military training,
did not prepare him for what he would see, face, and have to perform under while in Iraq.
He was involved in a firefight - in which he saw, possibly by his own hand, civilians and childern die.
Psycologically he couldn't reconcile what had happened, and cannot face what he has done.
Simply put - he snapped,
Battle Fatigue, Shell Shock, PTSD - whatever you want to call it,
he is psychologically damaged, and this will remain with him for the rest of his life.
While I was in 'Nam there were 2 opposite polar disorders that manifested with the troops in combat -
one was exactly what this guy did - flee. There is a 'Fight or Flight' mechanism that tries to protect
the human element from psychological shock in order to preserve the body and mind.
It's quite fragile, and can be easily overwhelmed with self concious re-evaluating.
The 'Other' way it manifested itself was in the loss of the 'Flight' part of the mentality,
There the person became a 'Thrill Kill Warrior' and has lost the total sense of their own vulnerability
to dangerous situations. They no longer care enough about themselves to distinguish between
living and dying - both their own, and those they encounted, either friend or foe.
The John Wayne 'Gung-Ho' mentality will usually get them killed, and in many situations causes the
involvement of their 'Band of Brothers' - where they wrongly respond to a non threatening situation,
and brings the focus of the enemy down upon themselves and thier outfit.
Shut up and don't shoot, you'll reveal your location - has it's place in warfare.
Friend of mine at Cam Rahn Bay worked as an Orderly/Male Nurse in the Psycho Ward there in '68 and he had sad tales to tell.
Many couldn't wait to get back to the front and kill everyone and everything that they would see.
Tragic part is that they were sending these soldiers home to the States after 30 to 90 days evaluation & treatment.
Psychological 'Time-Bombs' coming home to civilian life. Scarry stuff.
Yeah, technically he's a deserted, but I personally wouldn't want him back in my outfit.
Had enough fellow soldiers killed by 'Frendily Fire' and 'Fragging' to last me a lifetime.
