Sheepdog Tip of the Day

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Nonkillers are frequently exposed to the same brutal conditions as killers,
conditions that cause fear, but they do not become psychiatric casualties.
In most circumstances in which nonkillers are faced with the threat of
death and injury in war, the instances of psychiatric casualties are
notably absent. These circumstances include civilian victims of strategic
bombing attacks, civilians and prisoners of war under artillery fire and
bombings, sailors on board ship during combat, soldiers on reconnaissance
missions behind enemy lines, medical personnel, and officers in combat.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Killing
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Combat is scary. Therefore, realistic training also needs to be scary. Here
are a few suggestions beyond the obvious paintball scenario: 1. Darkness
or better yet variable blood-red light, with occasional flashes. If you're
ever played Doom, think back to the final levels of the game - this is the
color scheme you're going for. If you haven't, you probably should. It is
good training at how to make things scary. 2. Soundtrack with the
occasional scream, explosion, etc. 3. Put on protective clothing and
have attack dogs join in the "fun". There is something primitively scary
about having a carnivorous animal attack you. 4. Fire, if you can use it
safely enough. Does your local fire department have a firehouse they use
for training you can borrow? 5. I think revulsion and fear are related.
A few rats, cockroaches, and maybe some unidentified sticky (flour and
water, maybe mixed with dye to make it look like blood) or slick (spilled
oil) goo to run into. Is there a butcher shop that could give you the parts
of the animal that aren't normally eaten to spill here and there? Let
your inner horror-film director loose. Ori Pomerantz, Suggestion by the
Tip of the Day geek Note: Tom Kratman makes a good point that the brain
quickly learns to filter out supposedly scary things that are not actually
associated with risk. This kind of training, if it happens, should probably
happen very rarely.
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One former high-level North Vietnamese commander was asked to give his
assessment of the tactics used by the forces the U.S. faced in Afghanistan
and Iraq. He stated that our opponents erred greatly by using
indiscriminate killings (mostly with suicide bombs and car bombs), and by
attacking mainland America, two mistakes that North Vietnam sought always
to avoid. Thus, atrocity can be a powerful tool. But it is also a wretched
and hateful servant that must be kept on a very short leash lest it turn on
its would-be masters and deny them even short-term benefits. Lt. Col. Dave
Grossman, On Killing
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Discipline should take place behind closed doors. If you have somebody who
is chronically late or sloppy in uniform dress, or does not complete the
required daily duties without being harangued, those are the kinds of
counseling sessions that should be conducted behind closed doors. Calling
out what are essentially attitude problems should be done with some
respect for the member who is being counseled because you need to get to
the bottom of what is going on. Maybe Tom is having a hard time at home.
Maybe Mary's kid is failing in school. Maybe George has been drinking too
much because he is trying to cope with the loss of a parent. These are all
situations that should be handled carefully and cautiously. Christopher
Brennan, The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness
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At close range the euphoria stage, although brief, fleeting, and not often
mentioned, still appears to be experienced in some form by most soldiers.
Upon being asked, most of the combat veterans whom I have interviewed will
admit to having experienced a brief feeling of elation upon succeeding in
killing the enemy. Usually this euphoria stage is almost instantly
overwhelmed by the guilt stage as the soldier is faced with the undeniable
evidence of what he has done, and the guilt stage is often so strong as to
result in physical revulsion and vomiting. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On
Killing
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Not everyone on a safety team serves an "intervention capable" role. Some
should be "eyes and ears" being invaluable to crowd control during
evacuations and such actions. Carl Chinn, Church Security Seminar
(paraphrased)
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A soldier can make the decision in his own heart and soul not to pull the
trigger, but if he is part of a team, such as a crew-served weapon, he
would have to talk to the other soldier about it and they would have to
agree not to shoot. That rarely happens. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On
Combat
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Think you know this? Why not take a random quiz at
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PTSD is like being overweight. Many people carry around 10, 20, or 30
pounds of excess weight. Although it influences the individual every minute
of every day, it might not be a big deal health wise. But for those people
who are 500 pounds overweight, it will likely kill them any day now. There
was a time when we could only identify people who had "500 pounds" of PTSD.
Today we are better at spotting folks who carry lesser loads, 30, 40 or 50
pounds of PTSD. I have read statistics that say 15 percent of our
military is coming home with "some manifestation of psychological
problems." Others claim it is 20 percent and still others report 30
percent. Well, depending on how you want to measure it, 30 percent of all
college freshmen have some manifestation of psychological problems. Mostly
what is being reported on today are people with low levels of PTSD (30, 40
or 50 pounds of PTSD) who in previous wars would not have been detected. We
are getting damned good at identifying and treating PTSD and, when the
treatment is done, most people are better for the experience. PTSD is
not like frostbite. Frostbite causes permanent damage to your body. If you
get frostbite, for the rest of your life you will be more vulnerable to it.
PTSD is not like that. PTSD can be more like the flu. The flu can
seriously kick your tail for a while. But once you shake it off, you
probably are not going to get it again for the rest of the year. You have
been inoculated. PTSD can kick your tail for a while (months and even
years). But once you have dealt with it, next time it will take a lot more
to knock you off your feet because you have been stress inoculated. Lt.

Col. Dave Grossman, On Combat

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The men who fought in World War II were superb soldiers armed with
excellent weapons, but they had poor combat training. The problem is that
most of the time they were taught to fire at bulls eye targets, as were
police officers just a few decades ago. The fundamental flaw in training
for combat this way is that there are no known instances of any bulls eye
targets ever attacking our warriors. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Combat
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The presence of women and children can inhibit aggression in combat, but
only if the women and children are not threatened. If they are present, if
they become threatened, and if the combatant accepts responsibility for
them, then the psychology of battle changes from one of carefully
constrained ceremonial combat among males to the unconstrained ferocity of
an animal who is defending its den. Thus the presence of women and children
can also increase violence on the battlefield. The Israelis have
consistently refused to put women in combat since their experiences in
1948. I have been told by several Israeli officers that this is because in
1948 they experienced recurring incidences of uncontrolled violence among
male Israeli soldiers who had had their female combatants killed or injured
in combat, and because the Arabs were extremely reluctant to surrender to
women. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Killing
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