"We knelt and we prayed and I held the one's hand, whose leg had been blown off and looked him in the face and I mean.I can only tell you that I watched the life go from his body. As his eyes turned green he took his last breath and I see that guy often.In my mind.I don't guess you ever forget somebody who dies holding your hand looking at your face." – Chief Petty Officer Bob Page.
Undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Uniform.
"The art of war is to appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak" (Tzu, 2005). The thought of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting is the ultimate goal. Soldiers fought many wars prior to actually going into battle. These actions are not new to the military. Soldiers begin the process of going to war by shipping their equipment, supplies and weaponry overseas to a staging area. The Soldiers themselves are flown or shipped by boat along with the equipment. Once the Soldiers put boots on ground there is no turning back and they face the enemy head on in battle. .
Soldiers go to war physically, but they return home with the war in their heads. Words cannot express the graphical display of war. I have experienced this tremendous act of selfless service. Everyone copes and deals with war differently. The thoughts, acts, killings, death and bravery continue to play back in your head as if you are reliving the actual events. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have bought the realism of what is going on in our heads. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder that may develop after a person is exposed to terrifying events such as war (Dryden-Edwards, 2014). The diagnosis may be given when a group of symptoms such as: "disturbing recurring flashback, avoidance or numbing memories of the event and hyper arousal continue for more than a month after the traumatic event" (Dryden-Edward, 2014).
