Curious, is steroid use common in combat arms units? I've heard whispers in cadet land but it's nearly impossible to seperate the solid info from the bs here
I cannot say that it never happens but it is most definitely not sanctioned. I have seen more than one guy get hammered over steroid use. Guys on steroids tend to be emotionally labile and they also tend to focus on strength and size at the expense of endurance which is more important than pure strength.
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Terry Pratchett
Having read the Wikipedia entry I'm not convinced of its useful application in combat:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat
It shows the effects as:There are also unpleasant drawbacks too when suffering from withdrawal.Khat consumption induces mild euphoria and excitement, similar to that conferred by strong coffee. Khat can induce manic behaviors and hyperactivity similar in effects to those produced by amphetamine.
I have a vague recollection that in Somalia, in 'The Blackhawk Down' incident, a comment that if the raiders had gone in later most of the local fighters would be in non state to fight - having had their Khat chewing session.
davidbfpo
Not to defend anabolic steroid use, but even for guys not at war there are confounding factors in regards to this. Which is to say, it could well be that the kind of person interested in cycling anabolic steroids might be emotionally labile to begin with.
In the college sports programs I have first- and second-hand knowledge of a lot depends on the head coach. Plenty talk a big game to their players and bosses about how they don’t stand for that crap. But some of those coaches pull aside the linebacker who put on fifteen pounds of muscle in June and some of them don’t. This isn’t an accusation and it isn’t based on any observations of my own, but I have to wonder if something similar doesn’t go on in the military, i.e., there are units in which the whip is cracked and units in which the blind eye is turned.
I think a lot of people just don’t understand the relationship between strength, power, and muscle size. Or that steroid use + lifting for muscle mass can lead to connective tissue injuries (when a football player tears his ACL, MCL, and LCL at one fell swoop forgive me for assuming that he’s juicin’). A lot also don’t seem to understand how effective judicious steroid use can be for a number of injuries.
If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. – Mark Twain (attributed)
The filaments need to grow stronger as well, true. Likewise, martial arts practitioners and (semi) pro fighters also need to strengthen their bones with repeated impacts. Add speed of muscles and muscle memory to the list. Muscles alone actually don't mean much.
Then again, users of those substances (not only steroids) do not need to train that much and still have substantial growth of muscle mass. This can lead to a reduced risk of injury.
Last time I I saw an obvious steroid in a changing room. He got pissed off by where I had laid my towel on the bench.
I was thinking of how useless all his muscles will be if he actually attacks me. I had kept the proper distance and would have cracked his right knee if he had tried to strike a blow with those big slow arms. He was really aggressive and obviously having a discussion between his small inner angel and devil about whether to attack.
Personally, I don't get what much muscle or even the removal of the last fat from the belly is good for.
I could certainly benefit from redistributing some weight, but I haven't had a single occasion of insufficient strength in years.
Just out of curiosity... do armies that issue amphetamines for use in combat make any provision for the post-rush physical and mental crash? It does inevitably come, and the longer and higher you stay up, the harder you fall. The thought of a bunch of armed men in the throes of a major post-speed hard landing is... interesting, to say the least.
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”
H.L. Mencken
Some air forces enforce a 12-hour or similar break between long combat missions. That's supposedly enough to deal with go-pills' side effects..
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Terry Pratchett
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