That the war has inhumane effects on soldiers becomes evident by looking at the during the Vietnam War widely spread appearance of an action called “fragging”. Literally this term describes “the employment of fragmentation hand grenades” , which are used in an attempt to kill unpopular comrades, or more often higher ranked officers. Although this has existed ever “since the earliest days of armed conflict” , as George Lepre describes it, but at no time it “became so frequent as during the Vietnam War […] [where] between 1965 and 1973, several hundred fragging incidents occurred within U.S. military units in Vietnam, resulting in dozens of American and Vietnamese deaths and hundreds of injuries.” An example for this can also be seen in the movie …show more content…
This loss is even actively supported by the Army, as it is shown in Full Metal Jacket, where the recruits are supposed to lose their individuality, which is achieved by them having to shave their head or the Drill Instructor giving them new names, as they are supposed to forget everything about their old identity. This is the goal that the US want to achieve, as they want to drill the perfect killing machine for the war that will obey every command and will not try to question anything. Hartman saying: “You will not laugh. You will not cry. You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you.” further emphasizes this as the draftees in the vision of the US Army should only follow their rules and should not be able to think freely, in order to avoid complications and shifts in the morale of the army later in the war. The consequence of this loss is, that the soldiers then have problems differentiating between what is right and what is not and so their personal morale takes damage from …show more content…
The breaking of morale One of the most important aspects relating to an armies performance is, as George Lepre states, “the morale of their soldiers [because] this is what enables soldiers to endure hardship and accept the dangers of combat.” That means that a high level of morale is crucial in order to have a functioning army with a high level of discipline. But what happens to the armed forces if this morale is somehow broken? Jonathan Shay describes it this way: Any army, ancient or modern, is a social construction defined by shared expectations and values. Some of these are embodied in formal regulations, defined authority, written orders, ranks, incentives, punishments, and formal tasks and occupational definitions. Others circulate as traditions, archetypal stories of things to be emulated or shunned, and accepted truth about what is praiseworthy and what is culpable. All together, these form a moral world that most of the participants most of the time regard as legitimate, “natural”, and personally binding. The moral power of an army is so great that it can motivate men to get up out of a trench and step into enemy machine-gun fire. When a leader destroys the legitimacy of the army’s moral order by betraying “what’s right,” he inflicts manifold injuries on his
The affect that the Vietnam War had on American soldiers was astounding. The Vietnam War affected ninety percent of the American troops so much so that they started to turn on each other. The fragging started as a result of increased drug and alcohol use. The word “fragging” means to kill or maim the upper leadership. These increased
November 1, 1955 marked the beginning of the conflict in Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a fight against the Domino Theory, or the idea of the spreading of communism. Northern Vietnam was a communist territory, and the United States government feared that Southern Vietnam would soon become a communist state as well. In order to prevent this from happening, the US government drafted many young Americans to fight against Northern Vietnam. At first, many Americans supported the country’s involvement, though as time went on, many people became weary of the country’s involvement in the battle.
From the beginning of the United States’ history, conflict has always been prevalent. The need for armed forces continually grows, especially in times of war, as the fight for freedom becomes more challenging. Conscription, better known as the draft, was first introduced during the Civil War as a way to get more individuals involved in the military to fill vacant positions. The practice of the draft was finally discontinued in favor of an all-volunteer military system, when the need for troops was no longer necessary. After almost two decades of being involved overseas, the demand for armed troops is imperative once again.
The Vietnam War was a war the United States should have never been involved in. The “Domino Theory” was a direct cause of the war. The war resulted in much death; innocent civilians and young Americans were killed. The Vietnam war also resulted in rioting, distrust for the United States government, and the loss of many lives. 58,000 Americans were killed and 300,000 were wounded.
The military draft has been a controversial topic for many years in American society. The idea of a military draft has drastically changed between World War II and the Vietnam War. During the times of World War II, military service and draft was widely accepted by many Americans. During the World War II era, citizens felt that they had an “unlimited liability to perform military service when required by the state” (James 2). But as time progressed, military service and draft in the Vietnam War, constructed many doubts amongst many Americans.
Ever since the early 1940s, young men across the country have been forced to enlist in the selected services. Regardless of these men’s plans for the future, it was expected of them to lay down their lives for their country. While the military draft was intended to strengthen the American army, it also strengthened the arguments made by antiwar protestors. Why should people have to die for a cause they do not believe in? This was the question numerous American citizens were asking themselves throughout the entirety of the Vietnam War.
(AGG) PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) has taken a toll on Earth’s history, ever since Vietnam 's famous debut of PTSD making it a well known disorder. (BS-1) Najmah is indeed a victim as well, as she struggles with the loss of her mother, baby brother, and father. (BS-2) Nusrat begins to show PTSD through attitude, as she also struggles with the loss of her husband Faiz(BS-3) When Najmah`s brother Nur returns, he comes with painful memories of war given that he was the last one to ever to see his father alive. (TS) It is obvious that Under the Persimmon Tree involves various conditions of PTSD that create drastic character changes. (MIP-1)
War is very unhealthy for children and other living things. People want the world to be together and in peace. These days and in the past, the universe hasn’t been so peaceful: There has been war throughout the world and soldiers throwing nuclear bombs, or bombs in general, such as the USA throwing two nuclear bombs on Japan in August 1945. At the start of the Vietnam war, everyone that lived in Vietnam was scared including younger and older children. They all had to hide underground and make sure that no one would see them.
Adolescents who are forced to be in combat have the most destructive beginnings to their childhood. Throughout history children have been used as weapons not only to kill, but also to psychologically injure their enemies. Child soldiers are taught militant ways of life, to follow orders without question. The key to their survival is to follow all their duties. If child soldiers disobey, they will be killed by their “comrades”.
Many soldiers are not re-enlisting or are deserting before their nine-month re-enlistment has ended. General Washington, desperate to keep an army together to fight the war against Britain has asked us soldiers look into our hearts and ask ourselves the following question: Will you quit? To quit would be to not re-enlist. I have decided to not re-enlist for three reasons which are high chances of illness, horrible lodging and weather, and sparse food and clothing.
Soldiers go through brutal torture physically and mentally. Not only are they risking death but some even die for us to have our freedom. It’s not an easy job to be a soldier especially if you have a family at home. During World War II our soldiers went in to battle and most of them were drafted. Somehow America needed a backup to replace our soldiers so we thought why not let women work.
These are just a few of the army values and how they play an important part in an effective leader and follower’s day to day
Something that was gathered from an article is do you think that is very nice of them to do their job but what happens if there is a life changing thing. When soldiers go into the army they need to pass a physical fitness test to prove that they can do whatever they need to do while in war. It is proven that “When people that went into war were happy and everything, when they return the are completely different not the same at all”. One last proven thing is that “ In each group that goes to where they are deployed over ½ or ¾ of the soldiers that return end up with some type of mental
This case study addressed the concerns of a young man getting ready to register for the draft and his grandfather who had fought in the Vietnam War. There is an internal conflict for many Americans amid wanting to serve your country while also upholding your moral belief system. This case study helps us to examine the morality of war through a Christian perspective and the ethical conflicts of a draft. An important question is whether or not war is actually able to solve the root of our problems, and if it is worth the cost of human life. Personally, I have a difficult time accepting the violence associated with war and find the idea of a draft to be reprehensible.
Despite it obvious advantages, some opponents claim that conscription should not be mandatory because serving in the military can sharply change a man 's identity in ways that can hurt his social ties; it can influence on his relation to family, companions, and coworkers. It may be true that military has impact on the person 's personality, makes little bit tough to deal with him. However, people should realize the fact that dealing with the hard days and wars need brave men that have the ability to face these issues strictly, with courage and without fear. Beside, recruitment period is for a limited time; not exceeding three years term, and after this period expires, the recruiter returns to his social life and relations, also gradually resume his normal attitude in dealing with others. Moreover, it is important to remember that the intent of recruiting is to prepare men psychologically and physically for any