#4 The PTSD that some of the soldiers are experiencing is now of two types. The first is traditional combat stress, or shell shock.
But a new and strange kind of stress is more of a realization that in Iraq and Afghanistan they had a deep and abiding, life or death purpose; where even the smallest things they did were of immense value.
That purpose just cannot be replicated in the civilian world, even in high-risk jobs. There is no great dependency, no great menace, a lack of structure and the stress which forces excellence.
It is not surprising that re-enlistment rates are sky high. The very idea of returning home to an ordinary job and boredom is painful.
I hesitate to predict what are the long-term psychological problems that may come of this. Probably rampant republicanism, for one. |