Quote Originally Posted by Vic Bout View Post
, though I think I recall LTC(R) Grossman saying something about SOF guys being sociopaths....but sociopaths in a good, sheepdog-like way.
I think that's because to a great extent SOF has taken the place of warrior societies in what could be considered the military tribal culture.

Grossman has some interesting points, but he gets too wrapped up in himself at times (and some of his social guilt ideas) and misses some important considerations. If you look at many of the Plains Indian cultures, most of them had a warrior society (or two...or three) that served to 'select' the more combat-prone (and capable) members of the tribe to serve as what might be considered full-time combatants. They were often the first (and last) line of defense for the community. But within that framework there were cleansing rituals and ways of dealing with the effects of combat that we really no longer have (at least in what could be considered a formal, ritualized sense). In a related note, I've also seen commentary that direct flights from the combat zone to "home" with no decompression period have greatly accelerated the impact of PTSD-type issues. Sometimes it's worth remembering that WW2 guys had to (for the most part) take ships home...and had time with their buddies to talk about what they'd seen and done (if they so chose).

Most elite units develop similar rituals over time. One thing I'd be interested in seeing is a comparison of PTSD rates between members of SOG and (say) a line battalion in the 9th ID during 1969. On a side note, I seem to recall reading in a couple of places that the PTSD/combat fatigue rate skyrocketed in Vietnam during the drawdown...as combat became rarer (it might have been in Shay's first book, although I know Kieth Nolan has addressed this in a couple of his books in a slight way).

I don't think PTSD is related to industrialized warfare...at least not directly. I might be more inclined to suspect that its recognition and possible increase is due more to industrialized societies losing touch with their earlier coping mechanisms...but that's just a suspicion.