As a young man who has considered going the military route, I often find myself asking if I have “what it takes”. Well, what exactly does it take? Physical ability and aptitude of course, but I’ve come to realize that the most important trait to have is superior mental fortitude. The ability to operate at a high level of stress is crucial for anyone who wants to pursue a career in warfare. In fact, the military is conducting studies in order to analyze and increase soldier efficiency in the face of stress and trauma.
PTSD is one of the most prevalent dilemmas that US soldiers have to deal with today. PTSD occurs when the body fails to deescalate from the chemical reaction that occurs when one is under stress/fear (Wallace). The military is actively trying to find new ways to combat PTSD. Nuerobiologist Lilianne Mujica-Parodi studied this fear induced chemical reaction in the brain by wiring up different subjects as they skydived from a plane. She noticed that many subjects’ fear response system was flooded with stress hormones. There was, however, a small group of subjects who showed clear cognitive activity in the face of this scary situation. Mujica-Parodi describes this optimal fear response to “accurately assess risk, save room for cognitive thought, and rapidly return to baseline when the danger passes” (Wallace). She defines this as the warrior brain. Doctor Mujica-Parodi believes that her research, although still experimental and still working out third-variables, could one day become a part of standard military screening; for emotional and cognitive fortitude.
Navy SEALs, widely considered the most elite special force unit in the world, already use their own kind of mental testing/training. Before potential SEALs begin their training, they take an aptitude test. On this test, there is a section that addresses how they would respond under an adverse situation. It has been proven that those that do particularly well on this section typically succeed in surviving SEAL training. There is also a strong correlation that SEALs have an extremely low probability of being diagnosed with PTSD, but no official experiments have been conducted to test this.
The military is also taking measures to help soldiers already with PTSD. Doctor Marvin Paulus gathered 20 Marine veterans diagnosed with PTSD to conduct an experiment. As a baseline test, Paulus prodded the Marines by temporarily restricting their breathing and showing them unpleasant images. Brain scans of the subjects showed the overflow of stress hormones typically experienced by those diagnosed with PTSD. Paulus then sent the subjects to an eight week course on relaxation and meditation methods meant to coax their experiences on the battlefield. Follow up tests showed a significant decrease in stress circuit activity and increase in cognitive activity through adversity. This theory that meditation can heal PTSD is not new, as Samurais regularly practiced meditation to balance their lives was warriors (Wallace). It could be argued that there are some fallacies in Paulus’s trial. One could certainly argue that the trial size was too small or that the lack of a control group deter from the experiment’s results.
Warfare, much like mankind, is evolving. In this age of advanced weaponry, it is important to not lose focus of what is really important; the warrior. We should put as much effort into training the body and mind of our warriors as we do into the weapons they carry, so as to compartmentalize and develop the most apt warriors on the face of the planet.
Works Cited:
Wallace, Kathryn. “How the Science of Fear Makes Soldiers Stronger | Reader’s Digest – Part 3.” Readers Digest. N.p., 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://www.rd.com/health/using-the-science-of-fear-to-make-soldiers-stronger/3/>.