jmsuriano

As a veteran of over 30 years and multiple wars I will add my $0.02, for what it's worth. I am speaking about SOF, infantry, combat arms primarily. During firefights I have had to add times knock a newer soldier and let them know to use their sights, they were there for a reason. Other soldiers were firing more slowly but almost always got an result from their fire. It is a matter of training. I agree with the points made about acculturation. If a society approves of what a soldier does then there is less shock to a soldier when they must practice their profession. Not just a blank "thank you for serving" but a deep societal approval of the profession of arms. Also a personal knowledge of death whether it is from hunting, ranching, farming etc makes the early shocks of dealing and receiving death enables an easier acceptance of the role of the soldier. After the early shock there is a period of useful life and then a person is "used up" until they can be removed from combat and recover. What that useful life is varies by individual but training and acculturation both impact the lifespan. One other contributing factor was the high percentage of other veterans (especially before the Marian reforms) throughout society. The existence of "veterans colonies" also helped of providing a veteran of others who could understand and appreciate what they experienced. Most soldiers do not suffer from PTSD, any combat veteran changes but that change is not necessarily a pathology. The Legions had a society with a personal knowledge of death from a young age, a deep seated approval of the profession of arms, the Roman legion was the best trained army for its (and most) days and combat was episodic. All these contributed to the veteran continuing his life.