The Work of Death, my latest ebook

My latest book, the first in "The Work of Death" series, is now available on Amazon ebooks. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N1WO4XI

The individual soldier

There is the danger that we may become so enthralled by machines and weapon systems that we will lose sight of the fact that the man—the individual soldier—is the supreme element in combat.

—General J. Lawton Collins, May 1952

PTSD video featuring Delta Force operator and more

http://www.twildm.com

"Take anyone in the world ... no one can hold out forever. Take enough things to happen to a person at one time -- enough negative things -- and anyone, and everyone, can be broken."

-- Tyler Grey, former unit operator

Neal A. Maxwell on Suffering

God loves us and, loving us, has placed us here to cope with challenges which he will place before us. I'm not sure we can always understand the implications of his love, because his love will call us at times to do things we may wonder about, and we may be confronted with circumstances we would rather not face. I believe with all my heart that because God loves us there are some particularized challenges that he will deliver to each of us. He will customize the curriculum for each of us in order to teach us the things we most need to know. He will set before us in life what we need, not always what we like. 

(Neal A. Maxwell, “But for a Small Moment,” BYU Fireside, Sept 1, 1974.)

Exercise helps decrease depression and anxiety mood disorders

In the book On Combat, by Lt Col. Dave Grossman (ret), he recommends warriors should work out. In the book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, Dr. Kevin Gilmartin also suggests that working out is helpful.

PTSd is an anxiety and mood "disorder" (although I like to think of PTS as less of a "disorder" and more as something that happens when warriors face horrible experiences and
traumas associated with their livelihood).  Regardless, even though these two compelling books mentioned that exercise is important for managing the stresses that come from post traumatic living, and even though I didn't doubt them, I found some scientific proof.  Here it is:

“Exercise can be a magic drug for many people with depression and anxiety disorders, and it should be more widely prescribed by mental health care providers, according to researchers who analyzed the results of numerous published studies.  Exercise has been shown to have tremendous benefits for mental health,” says Jasper Smits, director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

“Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger,” Smits says. “Exercise appears to affect, like and antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviors.  For patients with anxiety disorders, exercise reduces their fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing.”

Source: http://blog.smu.edu/research/2010/04/01/study-exercise-should-be-prescribed-more-often-for-depression-anxiety/

War

Tom Spooner, whom I interviewed here on my blog, also has a blog. I got this quote from his blog. Thanks, Tom.

War is always and will ever be obscene. …  While war is obscene, those who charge the machine guns, who bleed, who go down to the aid stations and who are put in body bags are not obscene, their sacrifices have no measure—theirs has a purity where mankind shines and is beyond corruption.  I am not blasphemous when I say that in the brutality and evil of war soldiers who have offered themselves up so that their buddies may life, have in them the likeness and image of God.  And damn those who debunk courage, valor, fidelity, love of country, love of home, family, hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow.  Our soldiers give up much—that others may live, not only in freedom but even luxury.  They deserve our great, great gratitude and affection because they are willing to serve.  They are some of God’s noblest people.

—General Dick Cavazos, United States Army

Level Black: PTSD and the War at Home (from All Warrior Network)

Check out AllWarriorNetwork.com.

Great videos, like this one.

Sebastian Junger speaks about soldiers missing war

Published on May 23, 2014 Civilians don't miss war. But soldiers often do. Journalist Sebastian Junger shares his experience embedded with American soldiers at Restrepo, an outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley that saw heavy combat. Giving a look at the "altered state of mind" that comes with war, he shows how combat gives soldiers an intense experience of connection. In the end, could it actually be "the opposite of war" that soldiers miss?

Lessons for Life from SEAL and DEVGRU leader, Adm. Bill McRaven

Grateful in Any Circumstances - President Deiter F. Uchtdorf

We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?

Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges.

This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind.