The effects of armed forces service
By Primal Sneeze ~ November 22nd, 2009. Filed under: Commentary.
Vincent joined the Reserve Defence Forces, or FCA as it was then, when he was 17. Why he didn’t join the regular army I never asked. While all things military were his passion, perhaps he seen a better living to be made in business. And he has had many businesses down the years, most recently a car valeting shop and professional roadie. His expertise in weapons meant he could supplement the income from these enterprises hiring himself out as a contract trainer to the regular army.
Then the recession came. Cars were not being cleaned. The bands were not getting bookings. He took a job with one of the private security firms providing bodyguards in Iraq.
I met him recently. Home for his first break in over a year.
The eyes were the give away. Darting. Piercing. Narrowed. He was a coiled spring. In 12 short months the once natural chit-chat and banter had become forced and strained.
I have seen this before. A man I was in school with and an American I was later to work with had both joined the French Foreign Legion in the ’80s. Both had been in the reserves. Both deserted during overseas postings while on R&R. The slightest provocation would set of uncontrollable rage. Both carried knives. And used them.
In contrast, an ex-SAS instructor who now lives near me and has worked privately in Angola, Nigeria, Iraq and Afghanistan to name a few hotspots, arrives home relaxed and calm after each contract. (Most believe him to be an oil engineer and he doesn’t correct them). A big gentle giant who laughs off any slagging or anti-British insults.
It takes a certain type of person to take on the role of professional fighter. Playing soldiers at weekends doesn’t make one that. The vetting by private security firms doesn’t test for that. Nor do the psycho-technical tests done by the Legion.
Vincent’s family are coaxing him into not going back.
It certainly does take a certain type of person to take on the role of professional fighter.
I hope Vincent’s family succeed.
Met his da yesterday. It’s looking like a lost battle. Money talks.
Whether the family succeeds or not, the damage to the man’s psyche has been done. It would take a great deal of counseling and understanding from his family for him to return some semblance of normalcy. This pattern has been repeating in the West since Vietnam. WWII and even Korea did not have this effect but from Vietnam the story has been repeating itself over and over again. There is a lot of soul searching that needs to be done as to why this is so.
I’m not sure anyone ever really gets back to normal. The three affected above would not have experienced anything like those who were in Vietnam etc. – I cannot imagine what it was like for those.
Powerful post – makes you think of the likely collateral damage as the soldiers return from Iran/Iraq – A new normality? Is there any real effort to deprogram soldiers to adapt back to civilian life or is that really possible?
Career soldiers adapt usually. Unfortunately most of those being sent to Iraq at this time are raw with only basic training behind them and their sole motivation is a job. Any job.
I’ve had some dealings with a certain private security contract outfit (Lets call them what they are: Mercenaries) and they sought out specific personality types for contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Definitely more along the lines of your ex-SAS neighbour. Older,settled lads often with families and always with many years of military service often in specialised units.The contrast between their ‘day’ jobs and their lives back home was astounding and they worked hard to keep it that way. As you touched on they never,ever corrected anyone who got the wrong idea about what they actually did.
They were professional soldiers going in and they were under no illusions about what to expect.Career ‘operators’ have built up mechanisms (not always healthy ones) for dealing with the combat stress. These guys all know each other it seems and they do look after each other in a very surprsing way.I hardly think Vincent’s FCA (I was in for 7 years meself)time prepared him for what he encountered. I’m not knocking the man at all btw. My time in the FCA made me a superb commander of a 30yr old anti-aircraft gun.That’s about it.
I can only guess that either the supply of career ‘operators’ as you call them is dwindling, or that freshly formed ’security companies’ do not have the screening procedures that the well established do.