Although this .
suffering is evident, the military does not want to return these people to .
normal life. It wants to return them to combat.
To begin a greater look at the psychological effects of war, we must .
"understand that there are some positive aspects to combat," (Psychological .
1). Some of these aspects are the ability to recognize and confront danger, .
group bonding in times of stress, nations aimed at a single goal, and .
dedication and the ability to overcome survival instinct and to die for .
others. These all represent a "potentially positive comment on basic human .
nature.but if war does have a capacity for reflecting some positive aspects .
of humanity, it does so at a great and tragic cost," (Psychological 1).
This cost is exemplified through the statistics of the wars in our .
history. For example, "in World War II, 504,000 men were discharged from .
America? The combat forces due to psychiatric collapse.and at one point in .
World War II, psychiatric casualties were being discharged from the United .
States Army faster than new recruits were being drafted in," (Psychological .
3). Another statistic from the article, "War and Mental Health" states that .
after sixty days of continuous combat on Normandy, 98 percent of the .
surviving soldiers had become psychiatric casualties, and the other two .
percent were alreadycrazy?? before they got there.
Napoleon stated that "the moment of greatest danger was the instant .
immediately after victory," (Psychological 5). This is an example of the .
understanding of some of the incapacitation, psychologically and sometimes .
physically, the moment fighting has stopped and one believes him or herself .
to be safe. His reason in saying that is because of the feeling of complete .
vulnerability, mentally and physically, that is experienced at this moment. .
"The subconscious fear of what a counterattack would be able to do during .
these few moments are what Napoleon was talking about," (Psychological 5).
