[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Happy Times

They shoud get tests to profile these in recruiting phase.

You cannot say in advance what "grade" somebody's vulnerability to this is, and you also cannot tell the future event(s) he is going to face. The reason why PTSD has been talked down and ignored in the military so long is that it violates man's self-understanding as a strong, tough soldier who is untouchable in the face of deazh to admit that EVERYBODY could fall victim to this girly extravaganza called PTSD.

Should also note that many people dont get any traumas at all.

You are wrong. Up to one quarter, maybe even more, are effected, science shows. It'S sjust that it can come with a time delay and in a form that you as an outside observer of the person would not recognise it.

Closest that comes to mind for me is my grandfather and he was in some really stressing places.

He was in middle of some the biggest artillery barrages of WW2, witnessed horribly mutilated bodies as a result.

Was himself wounded twice.

Was once surrounded in an outpost with his squad, had to run to get help trough an open field, with the enemy firing at him all the way.

He has never had nightmares, only thing you can read from his face is a big smile.

That does not prove anything. My father's father was radio carrier in Russia, he came back with one leg, one eye and one lunge, and pains that he almost lost his mind. In later decades, he was bitter about his fate, but not suffering traumatisation. The father of my mother was tank commander and got six tanks shot into flames below his back, all crews dying since they could not escape. He dreamed and slept badly until the end of his life, suffered from attacks of uncontrollable shaking, and broke into tears when seeing christmas trees.

You have to take into account that systemtic study of the phenomenbeon of PTSD did not start earlier than Vietnam. The Germans did something like that in WWII, but could help little about it. But in principle stress did not start to become a stronger research program before Vietnam and the phenomenon of the socalled "Todeshexen", (deatch witches), as it is called in German. In WWII, at least the movie about Patton showed him to be completely ignorrant of the phenomenen and not only laughing in that patient's face, but beating him and cursing him (for which he later had to apologoze in front of his division).

But since the Western nations are the spit cup of the rest of the world, i hope we do continue encourage our young men and women to serve their country in the military.

I do not misrespect people joining the military, I even was close to chose that path myself, once. But I hate to manipulate the young and innocent who cannot know what they are in for, to lurk them into the war business. I say let the men find out themselves whether or not they have a warrior's spirit, and if they think they have, some will find their way into the military all by themselves, while others express it in another way and form (like I decided in case of myself). But manipulative, brainwashing recruiting makes me aggressive and reaching the ends of my tolerance.

I once again recommend the old German movie "Die Brücke", the old black-white film, not the terrible new junk movie. There you can see young boys playing adventure and being used to war being far away but exciting stuff, since they cannot know it better. They kill americans, Americans kill them, and for the most they are innocent nevertheless.

Impressive movie, one of the best war movies I know. Unofficial trailer: