War Crimes.

Many of us know about post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, but do we really understand the real dangers? If left untreated, PTSD opens up a world of violent acts committed  by soldiers. These man are thrust  into danger, and then re thrust  back into a normal life as though coming back from camp expected to be just as they where when they left. In a recent study done by  King' college in London, researchers have found that soldiers in combat roles are fifty percent more likely to commit a violent crime than those in non-combat roles to commit assaults or threaten violence after returning.  Men who had multiple traumatic combat experiences had a 70 to 80 percent higher risk of becoming violent criminals. David Forbes, an expert in post-traumatic mental health from the University of Melbourne, Australia, said this study showed for the first time the link between combat and interpersonal violence, and the need for better understanding of the mechanisms behind how combat enhances the risk of violence.  These acts of violence are no small crimes, such as in the case of Dwight L. Smith Jr:  a soldier charged with kidnapping, raping, and murdering a local woman last year is now claiming in a letter that he killed innocent men, women and children overseas and that his combat service got him "addicted to killing people."  In the letter, Smith writes, "I am going to be honest with you dad. I have killed a lot men and women and children. Some that didn't even do anything for me to kill them. Also some that begged for mercy. I have a problem. I think I got addicted to killing people." "I could kill someone, go to sleep and forget that it ever happened," Smith writes. Of course not all returning soldiers suffer from PTSD, but the ones that do are plagued every day with disturbing memories, terrifying flash backs, night mare dreams, crippling depression, and many more unsettling symptoms. Although the subject has to come to light much more over the years, people are still left untreated and this can have damaging effects on the soldier and every one around him. Post traumatic stress disorder should not be taken lightly and it should be tested and treated as soon as they are dismissed home. Our returning heroes deserve at least that much.

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One of the guys?

In the book War Is Boring David Axe gives you his tail of his addiction to war and his adventures that come along with being a war correspondent.  In the book it is clear that he feels that he should be held to a higher regard then just a field journalist taking pictures of a war.  It’s true that he puts his life on the line every time he steps out in a war zone carrying his camera ready to capture whatever story is unfolding before him.  Much like a soldier David admits to craving war and the excitement that comes with it rather than the dull mundane life of an American citizen. He gets down to the nitty gritty and flings himself into the must hard hitting dangerous situations no sane person would ever fathom being in. David tells the stories that need to be told, tells the truth that need that to be heard, but should he be considered a war hero should he be held to the same standards as a soldier?  Sure a war correspondent can usually be found right in the deep shit with the rest of the guys with a look of wonder in their eyes , and a camera steadily pointed at the action, but there not actually fighting, there not killing.  Please don’t get me wrong a war correspondent has an extremely important job of telling the hidden agendas of a war and what it’s all about I just don’t think they be themselves up with the works of an actual soldier. When David finally returns home, while having dinner with his parents he tells them “I mean I look around this restaurant at these people, and I know, deep in my soul, that I’m the scariest thing here.” I don’t think following soldiers around possibly to your death by choice classifies you as “scary” maybe in the terms of bat shit crazy scary.  Yes a war correspondent is vital for war, but in my opinion should not expect the same praise as the man of the story they are telling. 

Undeclared

It is a hard fact that you can’t truly understand something until you have gone through it yourself, an aunt can love the child with all her hurt but she will never fully grasps the unconditional love of the mother, a civilian can appreciate the acts of a soldier, but never know the lengths he went through to be home. When writing these blogs I always felt as if I was doing injustice to the military, by displaying their feelings by my own personal perception of a few movies, and books I have read.  This blog was initially supposed to be about soldiers coming home, but then I realized there’s no way I could write on  such a topic no matter how much I researched it . Yes I can speculate how they may feel and even hit some key aspects like of course relived, happy, confused, etc., but trying to write a whole blog about it is impossible, seeing that I have never been to war and don’t plan on going any time soon.  I’m sorry to leave you with such a disappointing blog, but I don’t feel as if any the topics I had originally planned would suffice to my rendering of it. 

Cradle Robbers

When you have a child your foremost instinct is to protect that child from the world until he or she is ready to venture into it on their own, even then you are hesitant.  But what if you live in a third world country and the dangers of the outside world are knocking down your door every day?  How is a mother supposed to protect her children with bullet holes in the sheet metal used as walls? All the time kids are used as soldiers around the world some as young as eight years old, and are dying to protect their country by force.  These children are abducted from schools, streets, even their homes.  They are stripped of the innocents and are forced to grow up in the blink of an eye.  They are placed in combat situations, used as spies, messengers, porters, servants or to lay or clear landmines. Girls in particular are at risk of rape and sexual abuse.  As said here in one of the ten facts of children soldiers   there is a simple reason armed groups use child soldiers: children are easier to manipulate. They don’t eat as much food, don’t get paid and don’t have a highly developed sense of danger, making it all too easy to send them into the line of fire.  All over the world people are making an effort to stop child soldiers but are it enough?  "We're seeing a strong international consensus emerging that the use of child soldiers must be stopped, but the practice on the ground hasn't caught up,"Says Jo Becker, childrens rights advocacy director for New York-based Humans Rights Watch, a member of the coalition. "Violators need to know there will be consequences if they continue to use child soldiers." "It is not enough for the UN Security Council to pass resolution after resolution without ensuring that these are followed up with concrete action," says Henri Nzeyimana, the coalition coordinator in Africa's Great Lakes region.

No we wont go!

 Many people oppose to war, students, families and hippies, but what a lot people don’t know is that the soldiers themselves are also fighting for peace.   We when think of soldiers the all American killing war machine is pictured, who support the war whole heartily, but not many can fathom the idea of one protesting a war.    But soldiers change overseas and are exposed to violence in its rawest form, which they do not wish to bring back with them or bestow onto anyone else.   Such as in the blog Reflections on the Vietnam War: The Things a Warrior Knows, Ron Kovic,   a veteran turned antiwar activist who was shot and wheel chair bound while serving in the Vietnam war is quoted saying “The nightmares and anxiety attacks for the most part have disappeared, but I still do not sleep well at night. .... But I remain positive and optimistic. I am still determined to rise above all of this. I know, like so many of my fellow veterans, that my pain and the horrors of my past will always be with me, but perhaps not with the same force and fury of those early years after the war. I have learned to forgive my enemies and myself.”  After going through the ordeal of war, his main goal today is to spread peace to prevent someone else from going through the same thing.  What does it say about a soldier protesting war?  To some it is a cope out or a way to put a name to blame.  To me the men are tired of the smoke covering the real gore and violence that is war.  There has been thousands of books written of the concepts of war pertaining to the realism of war such as The things they carried by Tim O'Brain that brings you into the depths of war and can give details on why a soldier would want to protest.   I believe by doing so the men show a better sense of strength  because they are essentially fighting the American for a vote not to go. 

Me,Myself, and I

Hello! My name is Jodie Winzer i'm a freshman at Jacksonville state university, and  as of right now I'm a nursing major. I'm from a small one red light town  you've probably never heard of called Franklin Georgia or franktown . I'm the middle child of  a family of 7 which in recent years has expanded to 12! Being the middle child I was more often left to my own and became a huge book nerd and like belle I'm very much at home in the library then at the mall, usually you can find me with my nose in a book or looking hungrily looking for a new one.