<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MassHavoc" data-cid="213253" data-time="1383763738">
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My question for you and the others here then about your bolded end statement is, Is it nature or nurture. Meaning is it the person or the training. I assume like life it's a little of both. But what I am asking is, does the Army's training make it so that any one of their top soldiers would have done the same in this position, or did it take a special guy to use the training he was given to react this way. I'm just curious I have no real opinion. We here about how much training all these guys get and do, but Is this type of situation something you can really train for? While you're familiar with the situations, the procedures he took probably weren't really in a rule book?</p>
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I think it is a bit of both. No one knows how you will react when this occurs, even yourself (while most people like to speculate). I thought I would feel and act one way, I was sort of close. Although discussing the details tend to be...quite personal. The first time is the scariest. For me, I did a lot of parroting. When you hear stories of the "1000 yard stare", this is accurate and actually develops. Some never get it, some cant lose it, I am lucky enough to be able to turn it on and off as I wish. </p>
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Did boot camp help? Helped me. You throw away your inhibitions and petty hangups. They build that in. They also help build your confidence as you finish boot camp doing things you may have never thought possible for yourself. Boot camp also helps with the "will to act", which is really the hardest part. Once you do? It is easier and easier. </p>
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Can you really train for it? The...mechanics and muscle memory, yes. And that helps both directly and indirectly. Being able to field strip and assemble your rifle blindfolded, the way you are taught to handle grenades, ammo, weapons. Never once in in the field did I not have my rifle with me, even when showering you always know where it is. </p>
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There is also something funny that happens... I did not like being in the USMC for the most part. I wouldnt trade it for the world and I wouldnt do it differently, but I wasnt a gung ho Marine. But after being in a forward unit, I missed it. When I got out, I missed it. Even to this day, albiet rare, I miss it. It is that... rush. For example, one of my buddies who played in the desert (I was EAS'd before him), called me up one night after he was out and said "Pete (nickname), Its weird... I want to kill someone". That is a terrifying thought for most people. But those that have had to play, get it. Like, I dont play the Battlefields and the CoD games and such. They are WAY to accurate in a lot of ways. The one CoD I played straight freaked me out when the m-16 (may have been ar-15 or something in the game) fired EXACTLY like it did in real life. The "incoming" and such messed with me and put me into that heightened state (aka 1000 yard stare). Playing those games literally changes the way my brain is working. </p>
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(Excuse any arrogant connotations) but I find myself luck in that I have always been a pretty introspective person, so I understood the way I was thinking, why I did, and able to adjust accordingly. For example, I NEVER walk with anything in my hands, I hate riding buses of any kind, and still wear combat boots everyday. Also, my collecting of Hawaiian shirts (I have 121 Tommy Bahama Shirts), started as a result of forward unit action. Facets of OCD are quite common. A lady-friend of mine is obsessed with books. I buy Hawaiian shirts. Another buddy I had collected dirt and sand, like a picture. Other guys, drink/drug it away.</p>
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Ok, getting to tl:dr. But hope it might help answer you questions. While each person's (not just military) post stress behavior may manifest itself in many different ways, there are great similarities. It also is personal info shared, but I dont think I could answer without being personal. </p>
