On Combat

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times, “Chopper Pilot Heads Back To A Riskier Iraq” by Richard Fausset (3/27/07), illuminated some difficulties in sustaining combat motivation in the face of repeat deployments. Initial passions are eroded over time by dangers, losses, the environment, and thoughts for family. Warriors with families face have to reconcile […]

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The military hospital in Elmendorf Alaska has got the right idea to help heal it’s wounded warriors: cultivating a sense of community as a healing force.
The Medical Group Commander is hawking the medical system and pulling wounded Alaskan warriors back home to heal (see “Injured Alaska Troops Embraced By Hometown Healing” in the Anchorage Daily […]

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How can Iraqis carry out this killing within previously peaceful neighborhoods? NPRs’ Ann Garrels recent trip to Iraq shed some light on growing sectarian violence. In her 10/10/06 report “Violence Forces Iraqis to Seek New Homes” there are several enablers of violence in action apparent.
The setting: Sectarian militias and criminals are forcing different sects out […]

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Clausewitz’s elements of friction: danger, chance, uncertainty, and exertion are the biggest elements that separate war from everything else. Our discussion focused on danger, the emotions it generates, and the impact this has on how we think and act. We then addressed the effect of prolonged exposure to combat stressors, and touched briefly on some […]

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Exceeding the limits on allowable violence appears to be a continuing element of the human dimension in battle. These excerpts from the NYT this month indicate violations of LOAC by professional soldiers who should have known better.
The role of their chain of command is uncertain from current reporting, but here is some speculation: At worst, […]

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A small Vignette in the Washington Post “Two ‘Private Fuzzies,’ Diverted on Their Way to War” by Bill Murphy Jr. provided a glimpse of two young soldiers’ transition from peace to war. Temporarily sidetracked in Iraq during a helicopter flight to join their unit (1st Cav), the two soldiers try to understand their surroundings, grapple […]

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Here are 10 propositions on the nature of war at sea. You may fire back when ready!

Sailors fight from their home and the fate of all sailors is tied to the fate of the ship

Individual roles in battle are not much different from roles in peacetime

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“That which does not kill us makes us stronger”
–Nietzsche
“For most trauma survivors, posttraumatic growth and distress will coexist, and the growth emerges from the struggle with coping, not from the trauma itself”
–Dr Richard G. Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun
News coverage of the human cost of war justly concentrates on the plight of veterans grappling with the […]

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Psychological needs of military personnel and their families are increasing—straining military health care system, reports an APA task force. Serious barriers to mental health care exist due to shortage of providers, reduced access to care and stigma of seeking service.

This week, these headlines trumpeted an American Psychological Association preliminary report on US military psychological needs. […]

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