When people lose their lives without due cause, it is certainly a cause for sadness; even more so if these people have given their lives to the service of their country.
This is the tragedy that recently unfolded at Fort Hood, which leads us to wonder, how much, exactly, can our soldiers take?
We have always held our Armed forces – the Navy SEALs more so in our posts – in high esteem; we give them all these laudable labels, such as courageous, determined and dedicated. We admire them for having the guts to go to places we would never even dream of being sent to, of fulfilling almost impossible tasks that we would rather not do. We know that they do so out of the goodness of their hearts and a desire to serve; but what do we make of the horrible experiences that they undoubtedly have to undergo?
The human body – including the human mind – is a very intricate machine. It will be extremely hard to understand exactly what goes on in the human body as a whole at any given time. Would it be surprising, therefore, if despite their courage and their dedication, soldiers fall prey to circumstances beyond their control, and develop conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression?
The horrors of the battlefield are something that a lot of us will probably never get to understand. And we know that there are people out there who still do not believe that illnesses of the human mind is a reality, that it is possible for even the best of us to suddenly lose our sense of equanimity and fall off the deep end.
This may be a good time as any to talk about the kind of emotional care that our soldiers may need, given the kind of things that they undoubtedly encounter as part of their duties. Our soldiers, our heroes, after all, are human beings above all else. Their physical capabilities are not the only aspect that they need to put focus on and develop.
The ideal, of course, seems to be unattainable; if at all possible, it would have been better for wars to simply cease to exist. But since that is not possible, what else can we do to ensure that our soldiers are well cared for, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally?
November 8th, 2009 - 3:50 am
[...] the recent shooting in Fort Hood still fresh in people’s minds, one probably cannot help but think how much these wars are taking [...]
November 10th, 2009 - 2:23 am
[...] to take a peek in to the lives of the men and women who lost their lives in the recent tragedy at Fort Hood, knowing all too well that despite all the good that they have undoubtedly accomplished in their [...]
November 15th, 2009 - 5:36 am
[...] the processing center in Fort Hood, where all the reason for all these funeral services began, life seems to go on. Deployment plans [...]
November 22nd, 2009 - 3:35 am
[...] few veterans will probably talk about; it has been thrust to the limelight, however, due to the recent tragedy that happened in Fort Hood, [...]