Interview with an Army Soldier
December 9, 2005 (CNN) While interviewing an anonymous US Special Forces
soldier, a Reuters News agent asked the soldier what he felt when
sniping members of Al Quaeda in Afghanistan.
The soldier shrugged and replied, "Recoil."
I have a similar story that relates to this. I kept in touch with a lot of my friends when they deployed, and my best friend from my old unit was in Baghdad. He was going through the emotional roller coaster that overtakes you in those situations, and I was doing my best to listen and offer appropriate counsel. He told me that he saw a soldier throw an Iraqi contractor (they are used for various tasks inside the compound) to the ground, pull out his pistol, and held it to the guy's head. I don't know the soldier and I don't know the situation so I don't think it's appropriate to judge. But, I do know my friend, and it was very telling how he felt about the situation. He was secretly wished that the soldier had pulledl the trigger. He had become so muddled in the emotions of the environment that he had temporarily lost his appreciation for humanity. It's natural. It boils down to "us" and "them". You begin to demonize your enemy and take away their humanity and then just about any action can be rationalized. A good soldier shouldn't feel, but a good officer should.
soldier, a Reuters News agent asked the soldier what he felt when
sniping members of Al Quaeda in Afghanistan.
The soldier shrugged and replied, "Recoil."
I have a similar story that relates to this. I kept in touch with a lot of my friends when they deployed, and my best friend from my old unit was in Baghdad. He was going through the emotional roller coaster that overtakes you in those situations, and I was doing my best to listen and offer appropriate counsel. He told me that he saw a soldier throw an Iraqi contractor (they are used for various tasks inside the compound) to the ground, pull out his pistol, and held it to the guy's head. I don't know the soldier and I don't know the situation so I don't think it's appropriate to judge. But, I do know my friend, and it was very telling how he felt about the situation. He was secretly wished that the soldier had pulledl the trigger. He had become so muddled in the emotions of the environment that he had temporarily lost his appreciation for humanity. It's natural. It boils down to "us" and "them". You begin to demonize your enemy and take away their humanity and then just about any action can be rationalized. A good soldier shouldn't feel, but a good officer should.
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