Look what 3 months in Afghanistan does to a soldier!

reply to post by schuyler


LOL... What? You are making it sound like these pictures are fabricated and all these soldiers just went on a three month vacation or something. Let's face it. Being in foreign countries with no real clue why you are there at young age will have effects on you.

What propaganda are you talking about? If you want to talk about propaganda, our government is way ahead in making us think we are in wars with all these countries for our personal freedom. Are you saying PTSD doesn't exist? Maybe these are pics of soldiers that are suffering from PTSD. To say that these are materials of propaganda is just ludicrous.

reply to post by hapablab


They signed up because they love their homeland, and the people in it.

If you can not understand that, then your heart is too dark, and you are not worthy of the defense they selflessly provide you.



To be clear...homeland means HOMELAND......NOT government.
I love my HOMELAND, and the PEOPLE in it, and will put my life on the line for theirs.

reply to post by vogon42

To be clear...homeland means HOMELAND......NOT government.
I love my HOMELAND, and the PEOPLE in it, and will put my life on the line for theirs.

I can only say you deserve respect for that passionate response. Do you have military experience? It would be very interesting to hear from those who have seen how 'being in the field' can change people.

reply to post by greeneyedleo


You may be right. They do look different.

I can only quote this though...........


"WAR IS HELL" ~William T. Sherman,Union General


Not only does your looks go,but your thought process also.

reply to post by pause4thought


I saw these in The Sun a few days ago and honestly?

One or two of the people documented looked more stressed in the "before duty" than in the "after duty" images and the rest had no change at all.

I know seeing things in war can change a person but those changes are unseen and you'd only get a haggard look from working with little to no sleep so I still wonder what these images are meant to show us.

reply to post by blackrain17

While I nodded with what you said, I think that in the last photo they look more centered.

Call it indifference, but they look like they're on-call to me. They have their priorities straight.

It's strange how one moment I agree with you and in the next I disagree.

In the first photo they do look curious to me. They also look uncertain of themselves to me.

reply to post by pause4thought

I kind of agree. Going into it for a patriotic reason I think will have a big impact on how you come back. For those who do it for the security they probably hit a wall at some point and either climb over and find composure or they fall back down and have not much else to lean on.

reply to post by curious7

I know seeing things in war can change a person but those changes are unseen and you'd only get a haggard look from working with little to no sleep so I still wonder what these images are meant to show us.

The photographer is specifically interested in the impact of combat in the longer term. The subjects, understandably, do look more grounded following their return, but the question is: will the harrowing experiences they have had impact their health several years down the line, (as is not uncommon)? The images are there to bring home something of the strain that is apparent once they are in theatre, but hidden on their return.

That they got off their couch and their eyes accostumed to look long distances rather then the next screen? Afghanistan isnt Vietnam your experience may vary.

reply to post by pause4thought


Yes, eleven years in all.

As strange as it may be to look into those eyes, its even stranger looking out of them.

Just because someone returns to their homeland, does not mean they actually came home from the war.

That is a difficult process, it took me many years. I had a platoon sgt who tried for many years, and then took his own life.

my brother is a serving soldier and has done countless tours in many countrys
afghanistan being the latest
and i can safely say remembering what he was like when we were younger and seeing him come back over the years from various warzones i have seen the brother i loved and knew well
vanish into an empty shell of a man now consumed by hatred anger fear and every emotion inbetween
when he came back from bosnia years ago he basically self destructed when he got home because he just could not handle the horrific mental images that haunt him and will do so for the rest of his life

i once sat down and asked him 2 describe what it was like (i regret ever doing that)
its the only time iv seen my brother reduced to tears

sadly in the british army (i dont know about anywhere else)
but when soldiers get back into civilian life there not prepared for the transition and the goverment does not have the inclination to help more i dont know how other countrys help there soldiers when they return

all i know is my heart goes out to all full time soldiers out there in the world because the aftermath of the job they do is truly horrific

I realised something was off by the third photo of each soldier and I realised what it was.

Their eyes. Their pupils are all dilated. Might be down to the flash of the camera, but might also be down to some deeper fear they now have to live with

reply to post by UkRandom


If he is open to the idea....here is a book I found VERY useful (although I do not like the religious aspect to it).

164 pages.....and it took me about 8 months to read/work through

Nam Vet : Making Peace with Your Past


ISBN 0967937108