Quote Originally Posted by Stan View Post
Mark,
A trip to the morgue or slaughterhouse is not sufficient - we do it all the time with new and old technicians and LEOs. The absence of blood and disgusting smell makes the morgue a walk in the park. Even physically shooting a cow in the head and then cutting it open to bleed out is no big deal.

Let's say you watched and helped remove over 4,000 dead people a day in Goma in 40 degree temps. Totally disgusting, but nothing you take personally. Now, come in to work at 0600 and find a young Marine with a single .357 round to the head - a young man you personally knew - that picture never leaves your mind.

No book nor training can prepare a soldier for that day. In 91 they sent us a shrink from Brazzaville to see if we were dealing with the situation. I retrieved him in our Boston Whaler and in true form, the Zairois were blazing rounds in every direction. I think I made it half way across when the shrink insisted I take him back

My hat is off to medics and firefighters.
OK Stan, I'm with you on this but would like to leave the door open for those with ideas for preexposure 'conditioning' to sound off.

My point is that as long as this 'exposure' does not inhibit the soldiers ability and/or willingness to engage the enemy aggressively and with purpose and that any adverse effect (if any) is felt some time after the exposure is probably why we did not bother ourselves about it.

Yes also to the difference between their dead and our dead... and civilians (with the Israeli proviso "if not combatants, certainly not civilians" considered). As you (I'm sure) appreciate it all gets rather complicated, depending on the 'who, what, when where, how'. Each of us have our own level of squeamishness in this regard... and once again does it adversely effect the soldiers ability to function and if so what (if anything) can/should be done about it?

Yes the emergency services people see some sights! Wonder if they do anything about it?