Soldiers dealing with the trauma of killing

[lookout123]

the individuals i know who have pulled trigger on other humans, post VN era are extremely well adjusted. military training doesn't turn one into a sociopath capable of killing anyone at a drop of a hat.
the training covers two separate areas 1) physical 2) mental.

the physical portion of it really boils down to repetition so that muscle memory takes over. certain processes are done the exact same way every single time, that way if a need arises stress and environmental issues will not slow one down or get in the way. anyone can learn this if they practice enough. "enough" is different for everyone, obviously.

the mental portion is simply training in risk analysis. the shooter is taught to separate the population into 2 basic categories. 1) those who want to harm you 2) those who wish you no harm.
if you come across the one who wishes you harm - only one of you gets to write a letter home to loved ones that evening; which one do you want that to be?
this is extremely simplified but is pretty accurate. if you get the opportunity to talk to people that have pulled the trigger fairly regularly you will find that most have no special malice or hatred towards their enemy/target. it boils down to them vs. me and mine. the "mine" concept is your friends, the people you live and work with everyday. most of the "hero's" that we know of had no death wish or desire to take on the world, they simply knew that if they didn't do ______ harm would come to their buddies and that was unacceptable.

i forget who quoted it, but Dave Grossman's work is an excellent resource if you want to learn more and don't have the ability to pick the brains of any shooters.