The Los Angeles Times has
a story today about a division of American soldiers that recently saw its first combat action. Members of one division were interviewed afterwards--it's an informative portrayal of young soldiers and their thoughts.
The responses are different, and some soldiers weren't happy being there. But the words coming from nineteen year-old Reno boy are troubling to me. (I live in Reno.) Killing people was "fun", he said. His friend says, "I'm ready to go back out again. I want to blow up as many as I can."
I've been thinking about the mindset of the US military, and the cultural norms that soldiers are placed in. On the one hand, there is the de-humanization of the enemy, so blatant here. On the other hand, there is the de-humanization of our own soldiers. I was reading
an article about the wounded and traumatized American soldiers who had returned home. Fort Campbell has what is apparently the first support group for wounded that's ever been on a military base, but the soldiers are discouraged from being emotional or "touchy feely". It's all still a tough-guy mentality.