Understanding our wartime experiences...

[JMA]

Came across this book on subject:

The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You About What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War

Available on Kindle.

It has received good ratings... but for me IMHO it is written to entertain which for me is a distraction (somewhat like Bing West's 'The Village'). But nevertheless a welcome contribution.

Another book: Soviet Afghanistan Veterans Share Their Stories, Make Predictions. Comparison of Soviet (1979-1989) and American battlefield experience in Afghanistan (Warfare in Afghanistan: Now and Then) [Kindle Edition]

Short and sweet and worth the few dollars for the Kindle version.

Comparing their experience to what they see ISAF/NATO doing:

Andrei : “This is my personal view. Compared to our military campaign in Afghanistan, they’re effectively just maintaining presence. They don’t carry out any large-scale operations, like we did. They don’t even fight drug trafficking.”

Andrei has a point.

[JMA]

Found this on TED.com and thought I would share it here:

Sebastian Junger: Why veterans miss war

I believe he covers the difference between 'friendship' and 'brotherhood' well to provide those who have not shared their most vulnerable moments in combat with others a glimpse into this reality.

Michael Norman - in his book These Good Men: Friendships Forged from War -sums it up pretty well:

“One knows why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to tell stories or look at old pictures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades gather because they long to be with the men who once acted their best, men who suffered and sacrificed, who were stripped raw, right down to their humanity.
I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate. But I know them in a way I know no other men. I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another.
I cannot say where we are headed. Ours are not perfect friendships; those are the province of legend and myth. A few of my comrade’s drift far from me now, sending back only occasional word. I know that one day even these could fall to silence. Some of the men will stay close, a couple, perhaps, always at hand.
As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my family and my comrades...such good men.” --Michael Norman in These Good Men: Friendships Forged in War

and also:

Wes Moore: How to talk to veterans about the war

The key part is from 8:05 to 10:30.