Now this is why I thought Kongou has a trump card in her hand. If she just brought out her most lethal weapon right away, this whole mess would never have happened. That is, starting with Kaga giving up on the spot.
Speaking of PTSD, I'm amazed Reiji still has his integrity even after seeing every single one of his men die from the light cruisers.
PTSD comes in many forms. Suffers may be total wrecks, incapable of functioning in social situations, locking themselves into their quarters, refusing to come out as they relive the trauma in their heads over and over again. Some survivors may have the willpower to ignore or lock away the traumatic memories and behave like normal people, but it'll always be there eating them up inside, and if left untreated they become paranoid, ill-tempered, and jittery, jumping at the slightest noise or provocation, or worse...
Or PTSD sufferers could be like what Reiji seems to be portrayed in during the flashback at post #2384045: "killing" his emotions so as not to let the painful memories destroy him, becoming laconic and apathetic to whatever situation arises--the whole "dead inside" vacant-eyed stereotype that was his very first appearance. (No, really, just compare Reiji's look here to the early strips--you could say it's art evolution, but I'd interpret it as his gradual recovery.)
In a way, becoming an admiral had unexpected benefits--not only did switching from the Army to Navy give Reiji the opportunity to meet and "thank" the shipgirl who saved him from certain death back then (and hilariously gave her ulcers in the process), plus gave him leeway to do a lot of "side projects" (the prototype CQC weapons+trainings from hell, the aforementioned boot camp, hell the whole "black base" deal), it also was a form of therapy for him, allowing him to heal and be his old self again, and deal with his trauma (the two graveyard visits show how much progress he made since becoming Admiral).
Of course this is just my headcanon filling in the blanks, so take it as you will.
Of course this is just my headcanon filling in the blanks, so take it as you will.
An apt analysis, I often find people's headcanon more interesting than actual canon. Looks like I need to give the series a full read since it seems to be translated more consistently now.
Nagato's probably shocked that a Big 7 battleship was downed by a carrier. Well, a little DD love should get her back on her feet.
Nagato was downed in what amounts to a ramming contest by a ship designed to be superior to her in all aspects that just happened to have a flight deck put on top of it later. The Tosa was larger, high powered, and more heavily protected then the Nagato class was.
PTSD comes in many forms. Suffers may be total wrecks, incapable of functioning in social situations, locking themselves into their quarters, refusing to come out as they relive the trauma in their heads over and over again. Some survivors may have the willpower to ignore or lock away the traumatic memories and behave like normal people, but it'll always be there eating them up inside, and if left untreated they become paranoid, ill-tempered, and jittery, jumping at the slightest noise or provocation, or worse...
Or PTSD sufferers could be like what Reiji seems to be portrayed in during the flashback at post #2384045: "killing" his emotions so as not to let the painful memories destroy him, becoming laconic and apathetic to whatever situation arises--the whole "dead inside" vacant-eyed stereotype that was his very first appearance. (No, really, just compare Reiji's look here to the early strips--you could say it's art evolution, but I'd interpret it as his gradual recovery.)
In a way, becoming an admiral had unexpected benefits--not only did switching from the Army to Navy
give Reiji the opportunity to meet and "thank" the shipgirl who saved him from certain death back then (and hilariously gave her ulcers in the process), plus
gave him leeway to do a lot of "side projects" (the prototype CQC weapons+trainings from hell, the aforementioned boot camp, hell the whole "black base" deal), it also was a form of therapy for him, allowing him to heal and be his old self again, and deal with his trauma (the two graveyard visits show how much progress he made since becoming Admiral).
Of course this is just my headcanon filling in the blanks, so take it as you will.
It also has to be said... allot of people just don't get PTSD at all.
A fact kind of lost in the shuffle is the reality most people that see terrible shit get over it and do not suffer major long term issues. Studies of troops that have seen combat have shown that even those that see heavy action the long term cases of PTSD are somewhere from 10-20% depending on the exact criteria used and further that the intensity of action experienced while a factor by NO means exactly determines who will and won't develop it.
Why some people seem to have such greater resiliency then others has been an area of considerable research as of late given the many veterans about. Still the fact is some people just "deal with it" better then others, they can acknowledged what happened without being constantly haunted by it. That's an important point too, you can think about and recall the experience without having PTSD. PTSD means you have no control over it; you get unwanted flashbacks, hallucinations, panicked reactions to stimuli that remind you of it, etc that impair normal function. By clinical definition if you can deal with day to day life normally and talk about the experience candidly without major issues you probably don't have PTSD.
There is also compelling evidence that while exposure to general trauma in battle such as casualties or injury can certainly be a a factor that being the aggressor is actually a more telling factor. The act of personally killing seems to be more psychologically damaging then being the victim (assuming of course the person isn't distributed to start with obviously) as it relates to combat PTSD. In that sense a theoretical war against something that doesn't think or isn't sentient is likely to be considerably less trauma inducing to those involved then one in which you had to kill other people.
Really that has to be kept in mind PTSD is the exception not the rule. If it wasn't we never would have survived since we would have all become emotional wrecks and starved every time a lion ate someone or two or three guys got crushed to death when trying to spear the woolly mammoth went wrong. There is after all a reason PTSD is considered a disorder.
Precisely. It is all a mental game. I knew some guys who were excellent officers that could handle any situation well, but when you stick them in the woods for some rural surveillance where you may be stuck in one place for days to a week, it literally only takes hours for them to start getting a little loopy. It isn't that the woods is damaging or anything, but the anticipation of the concept of being confined in one place for such a long time makes some people act a little irrationally.
Likewise, you hit the nail on the head about being the aggressor. There are a lot of people who will fight back if fought, but some people who hesitate when on the offense. In these situations, I find that if you believe what you are doing is right, you are less likely to have guilt and PTSD in the end. Society can have a big influence. Some friends who were Vietnam vets were real hard asses and wouldn't let anyone tell them that their work in Vietnam was wrong because they actually saw the good that it did and the evil that the opposition does. However, others who didn't see what they saw may think that their work didn't do anything, or hurt the wrong people start to doubt the righteousness of their actions.
One thing I noted is that some people get heightened awareness due to combat or traumatic events which is the result of the small things they learned during this stress that lead to their survival. A big problem is that a lot of psychiatrists diagnose this as paranoia, when in reality they simply have the veil of safety removed that first world civilization gave us. They see the realities and possibilities of violence, and are more aware of impending danger. In my opinion, unless it is true paranoia where the fear of threat is fantastic, that is a benefit to the individual, not a detriment.
IMHO, I think improving training for realism and teaching the theory behind the tactics does great things for preparing people to face danger and they are less likely to be shocked since they realize "Hey, I was told about this, I know exactly what to do."
How are those who fell out doing...?That Akashi was crying and whining about all that nurse work, though.Infirmary #2Anyway, I feel hungry.She looked all pale and scared in the infirmary.Those kind of wounds will heal in a couple of days. Or we can just use those buckets....Good morning nanodesu....That was some hardcore training for the first time in a while.
InazumaWe definitely need that kind of training once in a while.You're soldiers, after all. You too need to hone your skills at situation assessment and risk management.Nothing serious. Some fractures and lacerations at worst...0800, in front of #1 Arsenal.Good morning.
Looks like you lot made some ruckus out there.Well, you shipgirls are made tough, no less.I taught that straight-charging musclebrain a little lesson....Speaking of which, Kaga.
Shoukaku aside, what on earth did you do to Nagato?Still, it's nothing compared to live combat...
Nonetheless, I feel like I saw everyone's true war face.
Kongou
