Posted on Jul 23, 2015
Every human being is born with the ability to do great harm and great good, be it to others or ourselves. I ask for feedback.
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Every human being is born with the ability to do great harm and great good, be it to others or ourselves. I ask for feedback from my fellow RallyPoint members about my opinion.
We are trained to nurture our ability to enforce great harm upon our enemies and protect our fellow comrades and the United States of America at any cost including our lives. However, we are not trained to nurture our ability to do great good for ourselves and within the world. If a person recognizes that the ability to do both lies within and not without does that soldier have a better understanding of how to reconcile actions taken while at war?
We are trained to nurture our ability to enforce great harm upon our enemies and protect our fellow comrades and the United States of America at any cost including our lives. However, we are not trained to nurture our ability to do great good for ourselves and within the world. If a person recognizes that the ability to do both lies within and not without does that soldier have a better understanding of how to reconcile actions taken while at war?
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Warrior in Transition Transition
Posted >1 y ago
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I have now written and deleted three responses to this question..... what changed my mind this last time? I walked down the hall of my local VA hospital. In each clinic, ward or reception area was a veteran/ employee, a lot of them served in combat roles. OEF/ OIF, Panama, Somalia... and now they are the most caring and compassionate people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. They come from all walks of life and yet their common goal after their miltary service is to give back. I think it is within all of us - to be both
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SPC Allison Joy Cumming
I love your response SFC Terry Clay. I just really with the military spent more time training so that some of the soldiers who missed out on the great part of life could learn it exists first within. Not a lesson that can be taught only personal experience, kind of like yours as you walked down the hall of your VA hospital.
Thank you!
Thank you!
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SFC Terry Clay
in certain MOS's I could maybe see that, but in say, an 11b MOS, wouldn't that be counter productive, if not mis-construed or even mis-used? Not everyone has the same take on training and may take sensitivity training, as passiveness. Therefore, not able to fulfill their missions. if anything, this type of training would almost have to, come as a soldier was going thru outprocessing. Kind of like de-briefing and de-programming...
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I think that some qualities are innate and others are learned. Survival is an instinct and that is when this really boils down to. Not everyone possesses the desire to protect friends, family, fellow soldiers... that is why the percentage of the population who either go into a civilian career which protects or the military is so small. Less than half a percent of todays population joins the military. The ability to reconcile what you did or didn't do during war has to come from within and your own knowledge of the situation that occurred. If while I'm saving the life of one and another is killed, was what I did the right thing? I saved a life but I feel guilt because of a life lost may be overwhelming. Focus on the reality of the situation, was it justified?
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SPC Allison Joy Cumming
Great points CPT M C. I have been working on how to word my question. Should the US military include training about the full human capacity. For example, we are trained well for physical/mental combat for the most part. Are we trained for the opposite end of the spectrum? For example understanding every individuals ability to do great good for others and/or themselves. Both extremes reside within every person, it is a mater of what we feed and nurture. We all have the ability, it is then up to us to choose our path and what it will look like.
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We are trainee to nurture. Typically by our mother, father family and close friends. We must model this behavior for our children and peers. It takes listening and answering with thoughtful reflection. Also through spending time with other people with no expectations of outcome.
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LTC John Shaw
SPC Allison Joy Cumming Not everyone has parents or even great parents, but we have to be able to determine how we treat others. Like or not we will model the behavior of the folks who influenced us the most growing up.
My Dad, God rest his soul, was a good man, a stern disciplinarian, a screamer and a beater in that order. I had to recognize that I will attempt to model that behavior even if I don't want to. I sought counseling help and still do counseling to keep from 'going verbal'. No one deserves to be treated poorly, we must decide how we will relate to others. I found the book Boundaries to be very helpful, my wife and kids have all read and we discuss how to establish rules in our home.
https://books.google.com/books/about/Boundaries.html?id=9yby5dv5LgEC&source=kp_cover&hl=en
My Dad, God rest his soul, was a good man, a stern disciplinarian, a screamer and a beater in that order. I had to recognize that I will attempt to model that behavior even if I don't want to. I sought counseling help and still do counseling to keep from 'going verbal'. No one deserves to be treated poorly, we must decide how we will relate to others. I found the book Boundaries to be very helpful, my wife and kids have all read and we discuss how to establish rules in our home.
https://books.google.com/books/about/Boundaries.html?id=9yby5dv5LgEC&source=kp_cover&hl=en
Healthy relationships and sound living depend on maintaining smart personal boundaries. But many people don't know where to start. Here's where -- with Boundaries Zondervan Group Resource. Based on the best-selling book by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, these nine interactive sessions can make a life-changing difference. Drawing on principles from the Bible, Boundaries guides small groups on a journey of discovery and practical...
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SPC Allison Joy Cumming
LTC John G Shaw MBA, JD, thank you for your very personal response. I think some veterans have no problem returning to civilian life after deployment. However, statistics on veteran suicide rates, homeless rates and substance abuse paint a picture of "un-wellness".
How would you feel if the US Armed forces directly addressed all aspects of our abilities, to include the great good?
How would you feel if the US Armed forces directly addressed all aspects of our abilities, to include the great good?
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LTC John Shaw
SPC Allison Joy Cumming All people come from a less than perfect background. When you add war experiences on top of other issues, you cloud the path to 'fix' the person. (IMHO, no one ever becomes completely fixed)
The VA, federal, state and county governments must direct some money to mental health counseling and encouraging people to make this counseling happen.
Substance abuse is repeated escaping behavior tied to a physiological need for the drug that breaks any 'will' left.
Homelessness is a total disconnect from all responsibility usually paired with another form of abuse.
Root cause is people unwilling to face the reality of life and what is means to just 'be' a person day to day. There is no easy answer, it is individual to each person and their day motivations. We can only set the conditions and process to improve, not direct the individuals actions. We can 'Nudge' to a direction and that seems to deliver results.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_(book)
The VA, federal, state and county governments must direct some money to mental health counseling and encouraging people to make this counseling happen.
Substance abuse is repeated escaping behavior tied to a physiological need for the drug that breaks any 'will' left.
Homelessness is a total disconnect from all responsibility usually paired with another form of abuse.
Root cause is people unwilling to face the reality of life and what is means to just 'be' a person day to day. There is no easy answer, it is individual to each person and their day motivations. We can only set the conditions and process to improve, not direct the individuals actions. We can 'Nudge' to a direction and that seems to deliver results.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_(book)
Nudge (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness is a book written by University of Chicago economist Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School Professor Cass R. Sunstein.
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SPC Allison Joy Cumming
Thank you again! I will also look into the book "Nudge".
My reason for posting this "question"/conversation is because I am very frustrated with the way things are with some of our current veterans and their well being or lack there of. Congress and others are throwing $$ at the issue when $$ is not the solution. My feeling is that you can not find wellness on a shelf. If you are not "well" reading a book that talks about wellness might only frustrate one even more.
However, if a soldier/veteran comes to the conclusion themselves that they have/had the ability within them all along it can be far more valuable. The question then becomes how do you go about "watering" the seed of wellness within without just "giving" the soldier/veteran the "answers". Wellness is a place to come from, not a place to get to. Non an easy task but totally obtainable.
My reason for posting this "question"/conversation is because I am very frustrated with the way things are with some of our current veterans and their well being or lack there of. Congress and others are throwing $$ at the issue when $$ is not the solution. My feeling is that you can not find wellness on a shelf. If you are not "well" reading a book that talks about wellness might only frustrate one even more.
However, if a soldier/veteran comes to the conclusion themselves that they have/had the ability within them all along it can be far more valuable. The question then becomes how do you go about "watering" the seed of wellness within without just "giving" the soldier/veteran the "answers". Wellness is a place to come from, not a place to get to. Non an easy task but totally obtainable.
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