BREAKDOWN: How Army Uses Psychological Tricks to Turn Young Soldiers into Reckless Killers, According to Veterans Mental Health Specialist
It’s the question that has fascinated psychologists since the 1940s: are all people capable of killing someone?
Perhaps the most famous exploration of this debate came from American researcher Stanley Milgram’s infamous post-Holocaust obedience experiments.
The Jewish researcher wanted to know if a unique trait among the German population could explain why so many obeyed Hitler’s fierce demands.
He was shocked by the results: under the right circumstances, all of us are capable of blindly following orders – no matter how aggressive they are.
This is a phenomenon that psychologist Dr. David Shanley knows all too well.
The Denver-based therapist has spent the better part of his career supporting the mental health of both civilians and veterans who have been trained to kill on the battlefield.
Rates of mental illness among active-duty service members have fluctuated over time, but peaked in 2012, a year after the war in Iraq ended
Basic training for all branches of the military includes core discipline and leadership lessons on top of physically grueling exercises and marksmanship
‘Officers force the idea of kill or be killed on their recruits as part of basic training,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘And then they end up in these chaotic war zones where it’s them and the other guy.
‘There is a natural protective instinct that takes over. They do not discuss the morality of the issues on the battlefield.’
Dr. Ryan Fuller, a New York-based psychologistagrees that the action in war zones proves that ‘if they are in a certain situation they can be a killer.
‘I think that without the training that the military provides, a person would not be able to pull the trigger so easily.’
Humans were evolutionarily prepared to do anything that maximizes their chances of survival. When the human body is faced with a threat, it goes into the fight or flight response.
Signals are sent throughout the body to optimize it for survival; either by running as fast as possible in the opposite direction or fighting the threat head-on.
However, studies show that the flight response tends to be more common in such situations, with most choosing to avoid the risk of fighting back.
But experts told DailyMail.com that military training – including drills and disciplinary actions – aims to dampen soldiers’ immediate impulse to drop their weapons and run in the opposite direction of the enemy.
These training methods prioritize quick, instinctive reactions over conscious, conscious decision-making.
Basic training procedures vary based on military branch. The Army protocol consists of physical fitness programs, obstacle courses, combat skills, weapons and marksmanship.
Dr. Ryan Fuller, a New York-based psychologist told DailyMail.com that almost anyone, with the right training, such as what members of the military go through, could become capable of killing another
Dr. William Smith, an authorized psychotherapist in Georgia who works with veterans, told DailyMail.com: ‘Some people say they did really well in basic training, they were recognized for leadership skills, they got a platoon leader, things like that.
‘And then others will say it was absolutely miserable. Some feel that the way some of the training is done amounts to emotional abuse.’
While much attention is paid to the catastrophic impact war zones have on soldiers’ mental health, experts say many of those who kill in combat are actually relatively unphased by their actions.
A Vietnam vet told psychologists that killing others ‘wasn’t a big deal’.
“I didn’t feel anything negative at all,” he said. ‘It was exciting and I couldn’t wait to get out there and do it again.
‘I never really thought of it as – you know, they trained us great and you go out there and train. . . . I don’t feel bad’.
Another ex-soldier said it was ‘not that difficult’ to kill someone. ‘That didn’t bother me when I was in that situation,” he said.
‘For us it’s kill or be killed – your friends were killed. If you want to kill me, I’ll kill you. So for me it was easy. It’s not my fault, really.’
Experts say some of this relaxed attitude can be explained in part by the type of person who is drawn to a career on the battlefield.
Specifically, someone who has a tendency towards aggression or violence and is fiercely patriotic.
Dr Smith said: ‘I’ve spoken to a lot of people who do things like special ops, infantry, artillery, they probably have a profile that likes to be at the forefront of things.
‘I honestly think some people more or less enjoy it, certainly those who join the military for that particular job.’
Selena Soni, a clinical social worker i Arizona, who often sees combat veterans, added: ‘My sense is that the soldiers who go into basic training come with the idea that I can do whatever I’m asked to do to serve my country, my division.
‘I don’t know what the personality type is that has that commitment to country and service. But there certainly is.’
A sense of camaraderie can also motivate people to commit actions they feel uncomfortable doing.
Jonathan Lubecky, an Iraq war veteran, has used psychedelics to overcome his PTSD
According to official US military guidance: ‘The strongest motivation for enduring combat, especially for US soldiers, is the bond formed between members of a squad or platoon.’
But for many veterans, the guilt, shame and spiritual turmoil of pulling the trigger lead to serious mental health and relationship problems.
Army and Marine Corps veteran Jonathan Lubecky has found relief from his PTSD in psychedelics, the latest frontier in the treatment of mental disorders and the effects of traumatic brain injury.
Lubecky had been stationed in Iraq when an enemy mortar came down on him while he was using the restroom. He was left with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.
And Prince Harry revealed that he also struggled with PTSD since childhood when his mother died.
In 2020, about 5.2 million veterans were said to have behavioral health disorders, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. And PTSD may affect as many as 20 percent of Iraq war veterans.
Prince Harry revealed that he has been dealing with PTSD since his mother’s death when he was a child. His wife Megan Markle has helped him through it
The number of active duty service members experiencing mental illness has fluctuated over time and may correlate with certain military operations.
For example, the prevalence of mental illness among service members rose steadily starting in 2005, two years after troops invaded Iraq and a year after they engaged in a six-week offensive in Fallujah, Iraq.
It was the bloodiest battle of the war, killing around 110 coalition forces and wounding 600.
These rates rose steadily until 2012, a year after all troops left Iraq and the war there ended.
A 2013 report by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, who recruited 227 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, found that those killed in combat had twice the odds of being among the most symptomatic PTSD patients compared to those who did. don’t kill.
They said: ‘The combination of risk to life, loss of comrades and killing can understandably lead to greater difficulty in recovering from combat exposure.’
Evidence suggests that killing in combat can cause significant psychological distress. And according to Dr. More often than not, Smith does this to the veterans he meets out of a sense of obligation rather than a sense of eagerness to kill the enemy.
‘I have spoken to people about it who have been a bit indifferent. I don’t know if anyone has said that they openly enjoy it, but some people would say that they take pride in doing what they had to do.’
But feelings of guilt and shame are common among this group, according to psychologists who study veterans.
One of the veterans interviewed said: ‘I think you are ashamed of what you did. You know you are trained to do it and it just stays with you. I guess I’m very sad sometimes.
‘I feel proud to be a soldier who tried to do something that I thought was right for the country. But being a soldier is hard. It rips away at your moral fiber. It changes your life.’
Another vet put it this way: ‘I didn’t know why I should feel so bad if I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I wasn’t a baby killer. I wasn’t – I was doing my job. I did what everyone else did. But always the nagging question, why do I hurt so much?’
The experts say that those who seek their help have usually reached the point where they are finally ready to open up about their experience.
Mrs Soni said: ‘They really are a resilient group of individuals.
‘I think we see so much about the higher rates of psychiatric disorders. And I know all that is true, but I think we also sometimes forget to talk about all their strengths.’