"Vaccine" For Combat Stress

[USMCRET6391]

"Vaccine" touted for combat stress
by Sgt. Jim Heuston
Marine Corps News
September 20, 2004

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Marines deploying to Iraq need "combat inoculation." That's the assertion of retired Army Lt. Col. Dave Grossman - whose prescription for coping with combat stress includes breathing exercises, pastel warfare and avoiding a headlong dive into "macho arrogance."

Grossman, who addressed Iraq-bound Marines Aug. 26 at the Base Training Center Theater, coined the term to describe what he sees as a necessary change in combat training. His prescription: Conduct training that prepares a warrior's intellect and preserves his psychological well-being.

"It's time to go to war knowing what to expect," Grossman said.

Grossman, a former Army Ranger, paratrooper and West Point professor of military science, offered free advice to men who ultimately may have to confront - or even seek - what most people would rush to avoid.

"You must become a master of violence," Grossman said. "Every creature flees from the sound of a gun, but you run to a gunfight. Violence is what you do; violence is what you fight. A warrior must run to the sound of the guns and confront evil."

Grossman's audience was made up mostly of Marines who had already seen combat. The violence and confusion of war was not a mystery to them. But combat inoculation is not as much about training for the violence as it is training for the stress on mind and body the violence brings.

"Twenty-one percent of men fighting in the Pacific admitted to crapping their pants in combat," Grossman said. He added that the other 79 percent were thought to be lying. "Your dignity comes second to survival."

Not knowing that small fact could lead to humiliation for a Marine in combat - and psychological stress that could lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Grossman said research shows that 98 percent of men could handle only 60 days and nights of combat before succumbing to combat stress. The remaining 2 percent, who continued fighting beyond 60 days, were considered crazy when they got there, he said.

A further study revealed that the 2 percent-ers were made up of two groups, sociopaths or "wolves" and "sheepdogs," people who remained completely normal psychologically despite the violence.

"There is nothing superior about the sheepdog except his ability to thrive in combat," Grossman said. He added that many people thank their god they weren't on one of the planes of 9/11. "The sheepdog wants to be on the plane." The sheepdog's sole mission in life is to kill the wolves and protect the sheep.

For the rest of us sheep, there's combat inoculation.

"Frightened human beings will only do what they're trained to do," Grossman said. He then quoted, "You don't rise to the occasion. You sink to the level of your training."

Grossman explained that humans have two minds they have to control in combat - the fore brain, which is full of intellectual thought and know-how, and the mammalian brain, which controls our involuntary functions and fight-or-flight reflexes.

Controlling our heart rate is the secret to controlling our actions in stressful situations, and controlling our breathing is the secret to controlling our heart rate. Tactical breathing is the control knob to keep us in the fight - and could hold the key to keeping our sanity afterward, he said.

Grossman demonstrated the four-count breathing technique. It's like a basketball player calming himself down to take a free-throw shot, he said.

"120 to 140 beats per minute is optimal for survival, but you lose fine motor skills," he said.

A sniper, like a basketball player, has to slow down his heart rate to 100 beats per minute to take a good shot. Above 160 beats and a warrior starts to panic or lose consciousness, he said.

Stress changes the body. Under stress, the body pulls in blood to protect the vital organs. We lose our hearing as our mind becomes more focused on sight and smell, he said.

"Auditory exclusion," Grossman called it. "In combat you can't hear your shots. In low-light conditions, the eyes will shut down. It's difficult to speak. Time can seem to slow down. People have even claimed to see to rounds coming at them."

"Realistic training is the only way" to counter those effects, he said. For Marines, he said, that means painting the enemy.

Seeing the muzzle flash and feeling the sting of a paintball round is as close as we can come to the real thing, he explained.

These conditioned responses can save your life in combat. But Grossman reminded his audience the warrior's No. 1 killer is stress.

"Fear and pain creates a powerful neural network," Grossman said. "Lost memory, slowed time, false memories - just remember you're not losing your mind. Your partners, the Marines who were there with you can help you fill in the blanks."

Bullet-proofing the mind with tactical breathing and training also can save a Marine from psychological damage that lingers long after the fight, he said. Deal with the stress openly and make peace with the memories, Grossman said. He urged Marines to "weave a path between self-pity and macho arrogance."

Grossman left the Marines with one final thought brought to him time and again by guilt-bearing veterans - "thou shalt not kill."

The true translation of the commandment is "thou shalt do no murder," he explained.

He told the tale of a World War II veteran. The vet said he and his comrades shot prisoners because they did not want to take the time to bring them back to the rear. "I see the faces of those German soldiers to this day," the veteran told Grossman.

The least we can do for the fallen is to have a life that is meaningful, Grossman said in closing.

Capt. Dan P. Whisnant, intelligence officer for 2nd Battalion 24th Marines, organized the lecture - which originally was planned for an hour but stretched into four, he said.

One OIF vet identified closely with one part of the presentation:

"When he talked about not hearing your own rifle shots and missing part of your memory," said Lance Cpl. Carlos I. Ilarraza, rifleman with 3rd Battalion 5th Marines. "It's weird when you try to remember and you can't."

Ilarraza described going through a pitched battled and being able to recall only the first shot.

"It's good to hear this. We have Marines who haven't been over there yet," he said.

Ilarraza said much of what Grossman suggested was already implemented on the squad level. Rules-of-engagement training, talking through different scenarios, getting people to think about what could happen in any given situation - his unit covered all those contingencies before deploying, he said.

When it came down to a firefight, our training seemed pretty stupid, Ilarraza said. "The real thing though was just like we trained."

Combat stress can work both ways. Ilarraza described moving up on an Iraqi position.

"Their position was good," Ilarraza said. "But, they didn't have it planned out." The Iraqis started praying and spraying, and they lost. "The same number of Marines could have stopped us."

While the Marines seemed to listen most intently as Grossman offered tips on becoming better killers and sheepdogs, some focused on the spiritual repercussions.

"I didn't see combat," said Cpl. Chaz S. Mathews, battalion embarkation noncommissioned officer for 2/24. He then described being knocked off his feet during a missile attack.

"We're too bullheaded to seek help, but you gotta ask," he said.

Mathews is a youth minister back in his hometown. The act of killing another human being weighs heavily on him. The affirmation that the Bible says "thou shalt not commit murder" is a comfort.

"It's a fact that you're gonna have to deal with it," Mathews said.

Grossman's book "On Killing" is on the Commandant's reading list. A second book, "On Combat," is due to be released in September. More information can be found at www.killology.com.

[USMC Chuter]

I recommend Grossman's book, "On Killing". It's excellent insight.