On combat: the psychology and philosophy of deadly conflict

¶ … Combat

Dave Grossman in his book on Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace uses his expertise from his military service to describe and characterize the two aspects cited in the title, the psychological and the physiological factors in combat. The author knows these subjects from personal experience and conveys the reality of combat to the reader.

He begins with the physiological, by which he means the physical changes in the body during combat. Combat here means not just at the moment of fighting but the lead-up to the fighting and the aftermath of battle. Combat involves the preparations for war, the time spent waiting for a battle to begin, the battle itself, and the aftermath of the battle. During these different times, the individual experiences waves of fear, anxiety, stress, and boredom, with boredom being perhaps the major part of the experience. Grossman also makes it clear that people have certain ideas about combat from movies and stories told by old soldiers and that the reality is quite different and cannot be understood unless experienced directly. While some may see people who wet their pants in the face of danger as being somehow unworthy, Grossman notes that this is "a perfectly natural human response" (9). Grossman emphasizes throughout in fact that the soldier is above all a normal human being, and both his physiological and psychological responses are also human and natural, however much he may want to control them and direct them in a different way. Grossman notes the various systems in the body that are activated in the face of danger and that cause certain reactions and then change to a different level in the aftermath: "As soon as the danger is over there is a crash, a parasympathetic backlash of enormous magnitude" (15). This backlash refers to a psychological collapse.

Grossman notes that this backlash has long been recognized but that not enough is done for the soldiers experiencing it soon enough, meaning as soon after the battle as possible to help reduce the damage that can be done. Stress contributes to this backlash, and stress can be exacerbated by lack of sleep. Fear can also cause certain physiological changes, including higher heart rate, with all that such a higher rate might cause. In addition to the physical changes that accompany combat, Grossman discusses some of the physical limitations that affect the soldier in combat, such as altered perceptions in terms of sight and sound and how these are recognized by the soldier.

Certain psychological elements are also discussed as they manifest themselves for the soldier in combat or as they affect the soldier and his performance. Grossman refers to these as perceptual distortions and includes intensified sounds, diminished sounds, heightened visual clarity, a slowing of the perception of time, temporary paralysis, memory loss, disassociation, and so on. These affect the solider unbidden, altering how the soldier perceives himself and his situation automatically and unconsciously. Just as Grossman sees the need for addressing the post-combat backlash right way, so does he see the need for training to address these physical manifestations and distortions before they occur in battle. He says that this can be controlled for through training.

One specific issue Grossman raises and that occupies much of his thinking concerns the act of killing and the fact that this is not something that comes naturally to most people. In combat, though, it is a necessity in order to survive. Grossman asks how we find such men to do combat, and here he talks about much of the training that is given to these men. That training involves combat itself, of course, but it also involves finding ways to react to stress and fear. Grossman speaks here to those who train soldiers more than to the soldiers themselves and tells those trainers how to react to their students and how to convey as much of the reality of combat to them as possible. Ultimately, those, they will only understand once they themselves have been in combat. Grossman offers examples not only from military combat but from spending time with and talking to police officers, men who also face danger and know the meaning of combat and how it affects them and other officers.

The trained soldier is one who needs three things to survive in combat: "the weapon, the skill, and the will to kill" (155). Grossman discusses how the will to kill can be developed. Grossman is quite honest about the process and about the meaning of combat and killing, noting that "strange elations can come from the act of killing" (162). Grossman notes this from observing "how people respond to what is one of the most significant acts one human being can do to another" (163). Much of the rest of the book is taken up with considering how combs is approached and what it does to those who participate in it.