Simply put it's the combination of aggressive training and long periods in high stress environments. It happens after all major conflicts and always has done. Troops are placed in a situation whereby they are required to act aggressively to potential danger that may come with no warning.

Psychologically soldiers cope in different ways. This aggressive reaction to stressful environments is not always easy to shake off, and often transfers over to home life. Some turn to drink. Some turn to drugs. Some take it out on their wives. Some take it out on strangers. Some do all of the above.

I turned to drink a few years ago after spending a long period on ops in N. Ireland during the recent unpleasentness. I found myself over reacting to minor things and constantly getting into barnies in town after a night on the lash. It took a particularly bad confidential report and a few bust ups wih the (now ex) wife to get my head together. I'm happy to say that I pulled myself together and can take or leave drink at will. I am not as aggressive now off duty, and have foung myself talking to some of the lads post tour who loo like they're taking it badly.

My point is that this is not a new thing. Society has turned all civilized in the last x years, but the fundamentals of war haven't kept up. Soldiers have behaved this way after major conflicts since time began. It is one of the prices that society has to pay for expecting us to put our lives on the lines so that they can sleep safe in their beds.

I don't think that it should be like this and I'm not making excuses or trying to defend it, it's just the way it is.

Anything like this after the Second World War? I wonder.....

Originally posted by Nemiro
Anything like this after the Second World War? I wonder.....

Absolutely. The romantic notion that the men who fought in the two world wars were any different is quite absurd. some of the differences between then and now are

1. Moral values were in a state of flux at the time and many things that we consider to be morally spurious today were common practice and not subject to ridicule then. In other words what we see as excessive violence in society by soldiers today was just the way of the world 60 odd years ago. Many forms of violence were simply considered so normal that they didn't warrant report.

2. The vast majority of acts that were considered wrong by their standards were simply not reported, most notibly cases of violence against women. Even if these acts were reported there were not the mediums of making these acts public that there are today. Basically the violence was not reported or the public didn't hear about them.

3. An entire generation of men were subjected to extreme levels of violence during the war. Many of the violent acts were not regarded as being violent due to the mental conditioning of the men during combat.

Like I said, the world has changed a lot, but the basic concept of war hasn't. As long as war forces men to fight men in war, there will be violence in peace time.