Anyone naďve enough to think that only the enemy commits atrocities need to give themselves a shake.
Its amazing that soldiers come back with PTSD claiming it was things they "saw"
Nope, its what they did that traumatises them, they do things they never thought was possible.
Mild mannered christian "Ordinary Men" * go to war and end up being mass murderers
* https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christopher-Browning-Ordinary-Men-Battalion/dp/B00NBDR20O/ref=asc_df_B00NBDR20O/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697213944648&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9984881514427254545&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046493&hvtargid=pla-1649899811933&psc=1&mcid=54aeeda47f1a36f9b0521f7c46ac7f82&gad_source=1
Yeah, it's an interesting topic. My personal views are that many of the guys claiming they have PTSD these days are looking to make excuses for their own poor behaviour. They struggle to readjust after spending a lot of time in a regimented, hierarchical culture that is fueled by alcohol. They leave, they are no longer a part of something they valued, they struggle to establish a new purpose, and then they ramp up the drinking. It's a shame, but it's not PTSD. Half the people using these veteran's charities were mechanics and sailors who never went anywhere near a firefight, lol.
However, proximity to death does have lingering effects on people, and even writing letters to loved ones in the event of something happening will change a person, so I respect that many of them may be dealing with depression after that.
As to the guys who do genuinely have it, it's almost always from seeing a close friend die in traumatic circumstances as opposed to the enemy. No professional gives a fuck about killing enemy combatants. It's what they join to do.
For academics who research topics like PTSD, personality disorders, etc., I've always felt that it would be fruitful to look at the psychological profiles of those who self-select into special operations-type roles and then observe them over time. Take highly driven men who have an appetite for risk, expose them to intense honor-cultures where one's prestige is largely determined by their effectiveness as a killer, and you basically have factories for antisocial personality disorder.
Fuck that's real Bastard to have been arrested for one of his pals
Having that footage on his phone.
I don't think he should've been prosecuted - Just goes to show
what a Fucked up shitty country we live in.
Yeah, it was a ridiculous thing to keep stored. Once that footage is out there, it's subject to very clear laws of conduct, and jurists will quickly dismiss the sorts of arguments you and I might put forward in his defense.
