The mentality of a soldier

The mentality of a soldier [+ favourites]

Anyone care to venture into a psychological analysis of the different kinds of soldiers, why these different kinds join the army, and why they may die for their country?

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

i think some people just like following rules (they feel safer that way ) and if you brainwash them inough you can get them to die for the country ...... but i don't get why someone'd do that, i wouldn't that's for sure

"The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care .... right ?"

"i think some people just like following rules (they feel safer that way )"
Yeah I'm often like that. My lack of drive right now is making me lean towards a career in the British Army myself.

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

where you from ..

"The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care .... right ?"

I'm in southern France, but my mom's english and I'm in an international school here where they teach english literature so I think of myself as more British then I do French.

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

that's really really cool

"The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care .... right ?"

I joined to get away from home. But you know there is always the deep hidden thing we don't know about, that's why we do things. Well - I didn't have a father - The Navy became my father. I am a better person for it. I might have been a better person if I had a father too. The Navy has shaped me, there's no doubt about that. I'm not really old - this world has changed a lot, its like completely different. I imagine you guys will have the same thing happen to you. You wake up one morning and everything is different. But - we Hated America when I was a kid. I mean with a passion. The pledge of allegiance became voluntary in school and no one would dare say the pledge of allegiance, you'd get the shit kicked out of you. After my first three years I started to really love my country. Don't know why, but I really do love this country. What ever its worth. The soldier loves his or her country. Maybe not originally, but eventually.

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."

christians are mentally soldiers, cus the mind of a christian is the battlefield. u know, th good and the bad, what do u think moves u not sin? at that there is a war going on. and it depend u who wins. either God or the devil. i know a lot u don't believe in God and the devil. but trust me y'all, de devil exits, he is real, he is behind everything bad going in the world. if only u will believe in God, He will make sure u are protected and secured in life, if acknowledg God as the Lord He will guide and show u which way to go.

"life is about musik"

Hey thanks MIA
Its real common to have more then one nationality here and its easy to forget most peeps only have one.

"I joined to get away from home."
Sounds like the same reason I might join. What was it like? Boring, stressful, fun? I'd imagine character building

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

The first three years are the hardest. Culture shock is hard to deal with. Its a whole new world. The experience for everyone is ofcourse different. I went Navy, and if I was to do it again, it would be Navy. Something happened to me and I fell in love with the ocean. But I've been to a lot of places, that was neat. You might get stressed out, you might have fun, you'll build character and confidence but I doubt very much you will be bored.

I wouldn't encourage anyone to join. If something was to happen, I would not want to be responsible for your death, but, I won't discourage anyone either. To each his or her own.

And stella I believe there is a god, I don't know if there is a devil. I agree that there is something going on, but I will be honest, I don't know what it is. A black and white world is a dangerous one, I don't think its that simple. If you are fighting a battle, you might be fighting in vain.

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."

i think people often join because they are searching for something "greater" in life (see The Void). things get very repetitive in day to day life and joining is a new and different world not seen by many. i personally would have joined the air force, had it not been for my disability so, i continue my own personal search on this crazy place called Earth. i also agree with Mia on this. there are a lot of reasons a person would join, "to each his or her own" very true okcitykid.

"I am Akba-Atatdia"

Good answers, but I meant moreso the pride of being a soldier. What are the different reasons one might die for their country? (which is far more psychological than the reasons they joined)

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

i already answered that but i think i wanna extend it a bit

i think it also has something to do with pride .... i think they wanna feel like they did something big and they want their families to be proud ......they wanna show everyone how much they care (they'd give their life for everyone else's freedom)
but there isn't a lot of people that really feel that way
most of the people join the army/navy/airfose for all the other reasons listed above.... and aren't ready to die for their contry
so that's where the brainwashing comes in . . . . .

"The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care .... right ?"

yes yes, again i agree Mia. there are people out there who develope a sense of pride in their country, for americans i think many of them realize how much freedom they have, and they also understand that it can be taken away from them very easily, really taking this fact to heart would drive anyone to become willing to die for their country IMO. by the same token some americans may have grown to hate this country and might decide to join another countries army. for some other countries religeon plays a great part in it, correct me if im wrong but some believe that to not serve for your country is considered a sin and could cause you to go to "hell" or have eternal suffering... w/e. as for the specific psychological reasons, im sure some people are just more prone to feeling pride, and having a sense of duty... and all the things weve been discussing, i wish i knew more but i havent studied the brain extensively.... yet

"I am Akba-Atatdia"

I don't believe anybody dies for their country. They die because of it. They died because they did what they were told, or they weren't paying attention, or they were trying to save a friend. Some people say they died for their country, and some people believe it. But, nope, doesn't happen. Nobody dies for a country.

An Air Craft Carrier Called the Forrestal, sometimes referred to as the Forrest Fire. They never did find out how it happened. A small missle exploded, that ofcourse caused another missle to explode, etc, etc. In a few short hours lots of men died and it didn't look like they were going to get it under control. But they did. Somebody happened to be filming the whole thing from the bridge. The actual footage is still probebly shown to new recruits to this day. The most unbelievable thing you will see in this movie is while men are screaming and running from the flames, they stop, turn around, look into the flames, and run back to save who ever they can, another explosion, and they too are gone. Why did they stop, turn around and run back, no one ordered them to. All four fire teams were wiped out.

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."