Speaking from my own experience I’ve found that many of the guys who served in special units militarily aren’t really that into guns. I work with a couple guys 1 was a Marine Raider the other was Ex-Delta, they both express interest in shooting but openly admit to being disinterested in guns in general. I asked them further about it and they explained that once you do things like pop peoples melons with an anti-material rifle or call in air strikes on positions nothing really compares....which I feel is rather understandable. Not to mention I’ve come to find out both of them have large numbers of firearms given as gifts by the units and one even has a full auto AK bring back from Afghanistan. Another interesting thing I’ve found is these men have no problem discussing stories and missions, they don’t claim to have PTSD from it, and they seem rather proud of what they did. Are average soldiers simply too mentally weak to handle warfare?
>Also general Operator Thread.
High Speed Low Drag
tldr op is a faggot cowadooty isn't experience
I’m not saying I was in a special unit you autist. I’m simply speaking from experience with working and knowing people who have.
>Are average soldiers simply too mentally weak to handle warfare?
Yes. The average soldier is no different from the average man.
it's also a function of training and final outcome i'm sure. delta force isn't riding around in a convoy, not knowing wtf to expect. they are the suprise element
>they don’t claim to have PTSD from it
A decade of traumatic brain injuries will do that to a man.
I considered this, I thought maybe it was possible that through enough experience and fucked up shit that maybe their heads were just fucked up.
PTSD isn't from busting heads. It's from significant event while the mind is in a worn down state. When you deploy for only weeks to 3 months and kill people with 5+ layers of air support on hours long missions, it's going to be less likely you will get PTSD than if you deploy for 15 months with the mission to slowly drive roads looking for IEDs with your tires. Now, OBVIOUSLY, dudes who make various selections and pipelines will be much more mentally strong than the average Joe. But the mission set is also a factor.
As for "into guns", I don't know a single retired Ranger or former color group affiliated individual who isn't "into guns". Sounds like a couple of weirdos.
If you weren't retarded you'd know that POGs get ptsd a lot more than combat jobs.
not exactly, i dont remember who said it but there is a difference in special forces mode of operation. They are active and have essentially the mindset of hunters when the go out on missions. most regulars are on patrol or guard duty and it greats anxiety because while the spec ops soldier usually chooses when to engage, the regular doesn't so your'e always anxious not knowing when the attack would come.
i was a non combatant in the IDF and i know the first thing our military does is to put back an injured soldier back into the unit for active duty to prevend PTSD by suddenly going from a shocking experience to the calmness of a long medical leave. Also, the doctorine as a whole is to take the fight to the enemy and move towards them, very aggressive style and mindset. it's much better both mentally and tactically to be acting rather than reacting.
i think it was some navy seal on the joe rogan podcast.
I know one guy that is ex-sf and he shoots competitively and literally works directly for a gun company
It's both. While their threshold of fucked up stuff is really high, every explosion, airborne jump, danger close airstrike ect. lead to multiple hit scenerios as seen in boxers and NFL players. Couple that with a huge desire/culture of never wanting to let your team down/mission first/party hard, these guys brains are pretty fucked.
>much more mentally strong than the average Joe.
While likely, it doesn't make they immune. If anything that resilience allows them to repress all the trauma, which opens up a whole new set of challenges.
SF guys also i'm sure train each day for hours just shooting guys and the military probably ruins it with the extensive safety training
OP is mistaking
>having been around so many guns that it's just kind of meh whatever, everyday bis
as
>not being into guns
I remember when I first got into lifting. I wanted to talk about all of it.
I wanted to tell you my set by reps every day
Now I've been lifting for 7 years. I don't give a fuck. Nobody gives a fuck
you dig?
They seem normal to you when they're at work, but their family and close friends probably would tell you that Joe hasn't been the same since he came back. PTSD and mental illness in general is hard to wrap your head around and is rarely portrayed or defined accurately outside of medical texts.
>thinking the Rangers are anything other than just slightly a slightly more advanced infantry battalion.
>hasnt been normal
sorry man. i try my best. at least i fake it for 8 hours at work.
this
>Speaking from my own experience
Sucking dicks doesn't make you an operator and faggotry experiences don't translate to combat.
Still manage to have to tell everyone you lift, I am sorry you are a closeted faggot
>legging this hard
First off it's a regiment not a battalion.
Call me when "slightly more advanced Infantry" has dedicated fast mover air support, top secret clearance, relaxed grooming standards, tier one funding, more tabs than the rest of the Infantry, trains helo interdiction/offensive driving, number one recon/IDF/SBF for all color groups and is a part of usasoc.
True shit.
>implying the army isn't just a job
It's an asylum for so many there.
Have you done your yearly cyber awareness training user?
Bingo
I won't get very specific, since i'm hilariously paranoid about personal info on the internet but
>get attacked by animals as a kid
>fucking twice
>within a year
>now terrified of anything that even resembles them
>these are everywhere
>don't want to go outside
>have panic attacks if one gets close to me
this was early 2000's so PTSD was just starting to be widely known, but only as a thing people who "actually" experienced something "traumatic" got, no way some kid who got fucking repeatedly attacked by animals would get it!
>never get any actual help
>over a couple years I become convinced that i'm over it
>life goes back to "normal"
except, and I never even fucking noticed this until over a decade and a half later
>now have severe social anxiety and generalized anxiety
>along with fucking panic disorder
>everyone including me convinces themselves I'm just a shy kid
>never go outside
>rarely do shit with friends
>fucking petrified of social situations
>petrified of phone calls to strangers
>petrified of phone calls from strangers
>petrified of strangers in general
>panic attacks in large crowds
>too terrified of something going wrong to make new friends
>this shit just festers and continues to systematically ruin my fucking life until now in my 20s it finally threw up a roadblock big enough to delay my "progression" in life that woke me up to what was actually going on with me
Oh and I still instantly kick into fight-or-flight the second one of these animals gets close to me.
Finally started seeing a counselor to try to unfuck the decade plus of damage done to my brain.
PTSD is fucking insidious and loves to camouflage itself by manifesting as a bunch of different shit that is just varied enough for the person to convince themselves that everything is just fucking fine.
Would've stared at someone like they were a fucking retard if they had said I had PTSD for most of my life up until earlier this year.
I was attacked by animals too as a kid yet I didnt turn out like you
You are just an autistic loser
Fair enough, unfortunately for me and fortunately for you people are wired differently and are predisposed/vulnerable to different things.
Also for your sake I genuinely hope that you aren't lying to yourself like I was for so long.