Post-combat insight from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Apr 1, 2008
Chuck,
Just read your
latest article.
Well done. Your usual great work at presenting the information.
To get people "re-blued" or "re-calibrated" after a combat deployment I
recommend that agencies put the police officer thru a series of video
simulator scenarios. This is a tremendous tool to help ID any problems,
and to get the individual back on track.
However, I'd like to submit the "rest of the story." You ID'd
three cases where there were problems, and no doubt there are others,
BUT, a) we don't know if these would have happened anyway, b) we can
both find a LOT of examples of officers who were NOT in the combat zone
who made the same kind of mistakes, and (most importantly) c) in most
cases the returning combat veteran is a superior asset for the agency.
Remember, in WWII we had 11 million men in uniform. Remember
"Saving Private Ryan?” Most of the WWII vets saw things we can't
imagine, many of them were there for 2, 3, and even 4 years on end, and
they returned to the US as superior members of society. They were the
"Greatest Generation" and a new greatest generation is now coming home.
These new combat veterans have all the advantages that we
associate with the seasoned old WWII/Korea veteran cops that some of us
'old timers' remember. I remember how my dad, a beat cop in the 60's,
looked up to the WWII/Korea vets. The WWII/Korea vets were his heroes,
and the best thing he could say about them was that they were in combat
in WWII or Korea. As far as he was concerned, that said it all. They
are cool under fire, less likely to over-react, and most of them are
better able to deal with stress. After combat, everything else in life
can be a cake-walk.
Indeed, these new veterans may be better able to perform police
duties than the veteran of Normandy, Anzio, or the Pusan Perimeter. The
WWII and Korea vets were in constant high-intensity warfare. Our new
vets were deeply involved in nation building, in an environment in which
too much violence can be detrimental to the cause and is often severely
judged and immediately punished.
Below is an extract from the 2d edition of On Combat that
addresses the problem of finding “balance” in our care for the returning
veteran.
With thanks for all that you do for the community.
Hooah!
Dave
|
Excerpts from PoliceOne National Advisory Board Member Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, from the second edition of his bestselling book On Combat |
[In] this age of sensational tabloid journalism, the media can
encourage our returning warriors to wallow in the pity party by
presenting endless reports and exaggerated "news" pieces implying that
virtually every veteran of the war in the Middle East is suffering from
full-blown PTSD. This can create dire consequences, as we shall see in a
moment.
Here is a letter that I often send the press in response to their
queries about the military and PTSD. It’s taken in part from an article
of mine that appeared in Greater Good magazine:
==================
Today I am on the road almost 300 days a year speaking to
police agencies and numerous military organizations deploying and
returning from combat. I teach them that there are two dangers they must
guard against. One is that of the “Macho man” mentality that can cause a
soldier to refuse to accept vital mental health services. The other
danger is what I call the “Pity party.”
Interestingly, the very awareness of the possibility of PTSD can
increase the probability that it will occur. There is a tendency for
human beings to respond to stress in the way that they think they
should. When soldiers, their spouses, parents and others are convinced
that the returning veteran will suffer from PTSD, it can create a
powerful self-fulfilling prophecy.
I decline most requests for media interviews because of my
time-intensive traveling and teaching schedule. I also decline them
because I refuse to be part of that "drumbeat of voices" that tells
veterans that they are doomed to a lifetime of psychological trauma. I
tell the media the truth but then they edit out anything that does not
support their belief that “the war will destroy all the soldiers and
we'll pay a price for generations to come.” This sensationalist
“if-it-bleeds-it-leads” journalism is irresponsible because it can cause
more harm to our warriors.
Sadly, it is not difficult to find people in the mental health
community to support the thesis that anyone who kills, experiences
combat, or witnesses violence (or any other fill-in-the-blank 'victim du
jour') is doomed to lifelong PTSD and, consequently, needs lifelong
mental health care. Too few mental health professionals communicate to
their patients that 1) they can recover quickly from PTSD and that 2)
they will become stronger from the experience. Yet that expectation must
be there if there is to be hope of anything other than a lifetime of
expensive counseling.
Here is what I tell all my military and law enforcement audiences:
PTSD is not like pregnancy. You cannot be “a little bit pregnant;” either you are, or you are not. PTSD is not like that.
PTSD is like being overweight. Many people carry around
10, 20, or 30 pounds of excess weight. Although it influences the
individual every minute of every day, it might not be a big deal health
wise. But for those people who are 500 pounds overweight, it will likely
kill them any day now. There was a time when we could only identify
people who had "500 pounds" of PTSD. Today we are better at spotting
folks who carry lesser loads, 30, 40 or 50 pounds of PTSD.
I have read statistics that say 15 percent of our military is
coming home with “some manifestation of psychological problems.” Others
claim it is 20 percent and still others report 30 percent. Well,
depending on how you want to measure it, 30 percent of all college
freshmen have some manifestation of psychological problems. Mostly what
is being reported on today are people with low levels of PTSD (30, 40 or
50 pounds of PTSD) who in previous wars would not have been detected.
We are getting damned good at identifying and treating PTSD and, when
the treatment is done, most people are better for the experience.
PTSD is not like frostbite. Frostbite causes
permanent damage to your body. If you get frostbite, for the rest of
your life you will be more vulnerable to it. PTSD is not like that.
PTSD can be more like the flu. The flu can seriously kick
your tail for a while. But once you shake it off, you probably are not
going to get it again for the rest of the year. You have been
inoculated. PTSD can kick your tail for a while (months and even years).
But once you have dealt with it, next time it will take a lot more to
knock you off your feet because you have been stress inoculated.
When I was a kid, World War II veterans were everywhere. They
were our police sergeants, captains and chiefs. They were our battalion
commanders and our senior NCOs. They were our business leaders and our
political leaders. The idea that a World War II veteran was a shallow,
fragile creature who would break under pressure was ridiculous. (There
were some people like that; everyone knew of a few, but they were rare.)
Nietzsche said, "That which does not kill me makes me stronger."
The Bible says something similar many times. For example, Romans,
chapter five says: "...we glory in tribulations...knowing that
tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience,
hope: And hope maketh not ashamed." Throughout history, we have
understood that bad things can make us stronger.
The World War II generation was the "Greatest Generation" and
today a new Greatest Generation is coming home. That is, if we do not
screw them all up by telling them (and their families, their neighbors
and their employers) that they are ticking-time-bombs doomed to a
lifetime of mental illness.
Here is what I believe is the heart of the matter. To harm and destroy people you have to lie:
Lie Number 1: Ignore the vast majority who are just fine and report only on the minority with problems.
Lie Number 2: Fail to report that most PTSD cases are
people with only 30, 40, or 50 pounds of PTSD, people who in previous
wars would have gone undetected.
Lie Number 3: Fail to report that we are damned good at treating PTSD and that we are getting better at it every day.
Lie Number 4: Fail to report that PTSD can be a step on
the path to stress inoculation and that one can be stronger when they
come out the other end.
Lie four times over. Lie the worst kind of lie: the lie of
omission that gives only the distilled essence of the bad news. Create
an expectation in veterans (and their families, employers and neighbors)
that they are all fragile creatures who could snap at any time and are
doomed to a life of suffering. Get veterans invested in their grievance
and in their role as victim. Get them to draw disability from PTSD and
convince them that they will never recover.
I want the media to care, but I am convinced that most of them
are part of a mob-mentality, a pile-on, if-it-bleeds-it-leads profession
that does not care about the harm they do. Remember, this is the same
profession that put the Columbine killers on the cover of Time magazine
twice – yes, twice - thus giving those brutal mass-murderers the very
fame and immortality they wanted. This in turn inspired the Virginia
Tech killer who also appeared on every news show and on the front pager
of every newspaper in the nation. Sadly, this too inspires countless
others as the media continues to be their happy co-conspirators in a
murder-for-fame-and-immortality contract.
Please forgive me if I have been harsh but the situation calls
for us to be passionate. Yes, some of our veterans will suffer from PTSD
and we have an obligation to give them the best possible support. But
we also need a balanced, tough love that creates an expectation that
they will get over it, get on with it, and be better for the experience.
That they will be the new Greatest Generation
I prefer to emphasize the positive expectations. Positive
self-fulfilling prophecies. Now there is a nice concept. But will we
ever see it in the news?
