Essay Sample on Combat: A Weapon of War and Terror

Introduction

They say that combat is used by opposing military forces during the war. Combat is defined as the violent means that are used by the military to weaken, establish dominance over the opposition, or kill the opponent. Trained personnel conducts combat, and its success depends on the readies of the troop. Combat can take place under some guidance or can be unregulated. Combat may use weapons or maybe unarmed. When unarmed combat is used, rape is used as a weapon of weakening the opposition psychologically.

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After the war, the veterans return home, but they are faced with some challenges that may not seem evident to the civilians. During combat, the veterans face traumatic events, and sometimes they are assaulted by their opponents. And therefore, when they return to civilian life, they feel like returning to the battlefield, and feel like they do not belong. The way society is structured makes it hard for veterans to readjust to civilian life. Most veterans always look for the means of going back to combat life. Those that do not manage to go back face post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The research found that veterans are experiencing depression, suicidal thoughts, and loneliness (Junger,2016).

Majority of the veterans experience rape or attempted rape during war. Thus, most of them exhibit PTSD that have got symptoms of rape trauma syndrome. The fact that sexual assaults are conducted by fellow soldiers who are meant to be family during war worsens the war outcomes. Upon returning home, the veterans find it hard to fit back to society as they fear the people will assault them as they refer to as a family. Without proper emotional intervention, veterans struggle with PTSD and yearn to go back to the battlefield. If these feelings are not dealt with, they end up committing suicide (Stafford & Elzy, 2015).

During combat, rape is quite common in female veterans as compared to their male counterparts. Despite rape being one of the best predictors of PTSD, the diagnosis of this disorder is low as professionals assume that combat-related PTSD presents themselves in a given order. Thus, most veterans do not get treatment from the veteran's affairs professionals as there is no proof of rape trauma syndrome that linked directly to combat. Although men also experience rape or attempted rape, they rarely report. Therefore, it necessitates that during the physiological assessment of veterans, the medics should try as much as possible to get any history of sexual harassment of any veteran. This information is essential as veterans diagnosed with PTSD and sexual trauma syndrome suffer from severe mental illness as compared to those with no sexual abuse history. They are likely to feel out off place and will struggle in attempting to fit into society. It is, therefore, necessary for the community and the veterans to understand some of the signs and behavior patterns that may indicate that a veteran is suffering from PTSD and rape trauma syndrome.

Veterans experience the symptoms of PTSD at different periods. Some experience symptoms after hours, days, months, or years after experiencing traumatic events. However, there are common symptoms of veterans facing PTSD and rape trauma syndrome experience.

First, the veterans will have thoughts and nightmares that make them feel like the event is happening again, and they will experience extreme panic attacks. Secondly, the veterans will have the urge to avoid things and places that tend to act as reminders of the event. This feeling results in the veteran withdrawing from friends, family, and they lose interest in the things they used to do. Thirdly the veteran may continuously have feelings of guilt and shame. Finally, the veterans will display extreme emotional reactions. The veterans will have intense anger and will easily be irritated. The families of ex-militants should pay attention to the occurrence of the above behaviors and assist the veterans in getting help as they may be an indication of PTSD.

There is an increase in the sexual abuse of veterans in the military. Therefore, measures have been taken to ensure that the veterans access healthcare. In 1992, policies were set to ensure that females who get raped during their time of service obtained justice and were compensated (Katz & Sawyer, 2019). Since then, the policy has been expanded to cover male veterans who also experience sexual assault. Despite these interventions, most of the male veterans who get raped during their service may choose to keep quiet.

There is no enough evidence of why male veterans who suffer sexual assaults avoid getting help. It is, therefore, essential to do more research and come up with strategies that will encourage male veterans to open up and seek advice. Secondary data will be used to evaluate how combat and rape affect the ability of veterans to rejoin and fit into society after they leave the military.

Conclusion

Both male and female veterans experience rape during their services. This increases the chances of them being diagnosed with both PTSD and rape trauma syndrome. It is, therefore, necessary to have the militants regularly screened for sexual harassment when they are still in service and before they join the civilians. This will in the early treatment of PTSD and help them in adopting and fitting to society.

Reference

Junger, S. (2016). Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging. Twelve.

Katz, L., & Sawyer, W. (2019). Pragmatic trial of brief warrior renew group therapy for military sexual trauma in VA primary care. Psychological Services. doi: 10.1037/ser0000325

Stafford, J., & Elzy, M. (2015). Understanding and Treating Military Sexual Trauma: A Misunderstanding of the Evidence Understanding and Treating Military Sexual Trauma: A Misunderstanding of the Evidence. Psyccritiques, 6060(5050). doi: 10.1037/a0039951