Do you fear who you are capable of becoming if the SHTF?, page 8

I find it interesting the visions folks have as to what behavior they would engage in and what they wouldn't, given extreme circumstances.

We had a medic who was a conscious objector. I disagreed with his decision to not carry a weapon, but I admired his guts because he put himself in harm's way more so than the rest of us.

He would fuss at me for my . . . I guess we could call it "efficiency." He would actually get angry with me at times and we discussed our philosophical differences. Yet at all times, I admired his courage.

We got hit hard, and partially overrun. It was every man for himself there for a few moments, and in the confusion, a couple enemy got through our "lines."

I was too busy worrying about the dozen or so in front of me to worry about a couple that got behind me, and in moments it was over. We began taking stock of ourselves, checking each other, plugging wounds and so on, and I had drifted back toward the center of our small perimeter when I saw the Medic sitting on a log, covered in blood, staring at his bloody hands, holding a scapel.

He sensed my presence and with a manner of disbelief, said, "I killed them." Come to find out, these two clowns that broke through found our wounded, and were bayoneting them. The Medic was returning with another wounded man and saw what was happening to "his" wounded.

He waded in, armed with a scapel. Maybe a two-inch blade, and to use the word "butchered" would not cover what he did to these two. They were sliced and diced beyond recognition.

I looked at them and deciding to lighten the mood, replied something like, "Yep, you killed the **** out of them."

I waited a moment, and said, "Doc, we need you. We've done what we know to do. You got work to do."

Only later did we talk again, and I assured him. "Doc, we all have a breaking point. Mine's about room temperature. Now you know yours. I drop these bastards at every opportunity, you drop the same bastards at last resort. We both have our place under the sun."

Until you've experienced a really bad survival situation, you really don't know exactly what you'll do. I do know that if kids are off limits in good times, kids will be off limits in hard times.

It's those nice, quiet, peaceful little guys that never say much, go along with everyone, accommodate others at every chance that are the most fearful men on earth when the time arrives that action will not wait another moment.

Good responses by everyone.

I learned that the trick is to have a few rules that will never be broken. Not too wide-sweeping. Don't want to be forced to break a rule.

For example we had three rules. Never, ever sleep on guard duty. Never, ever hurt or rape any women captives. And never, ever, throw down on a child, since they had no choice who their parents were, much less their parents politics.

Even a couple rudimentary rules will enable you to keep a string, ever so thin, that will enable a return to civilized behavior when the moment is appropriate.

Let us all pray those moments never come.