You're a fool if you're not afraid. Only simpletons are completely devoid of fear.
Even the mightiest men feel it. It's just a matter of how you handle it.
Do you fold, give into your "flight or freeze" instinct and become prey?
Or do you rise to the occasion, turn to your "FIGHT" instinct and become a warrior?
It does tone itself down somewhat with exposure.
The more you do it, the easier it gets.
That's experience.
I've heard of this phenomena from other guys who fought in the desert. Young men being shot at, terrified, but relying on their training. First time, they were more liability than good soldiers.
But by the fifth time they are engaged, combat becomes "sitting around casually on rooftops, smoking cigarettes and scanning for targets". This could go on for hours. Those first few minutes are a major adrenaline dump. But once you've established a position, there's a lot of waiting. It's almost physically impossible to remain panicked for that long, especially when you have older, more experienced men with you.
There's an old idiom, I do not know from where it originates: "In a profession where young men die, fear the old men." This applies to soldiering more than almost anything else. The ones that survive long careers, engaging in combat multiple times- copy them. Mimic their every action, try to move the way they do, communicate the way they do. They made it to their age as a warrior because they knew what they were doing and were a little lucky.
And there's where my fear lies. Luck- you either have it or you do not. Are you the first guy the sniper spots? Or is it your best friend, right next to you? Did the sniper get a good night's sleep, is he well fed, is he motivated? Is he a real killer? Most untrained people subconsciously fuck up their aim when shooting at people.
Here's a fantastic video about "shooting to kill": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zViyZGmBhvs
A lot of research was done around WW1 and WW2 into this psychology. German's reported feeling what they called "trigger finger frostbite". They'd see the enemy, look down their rifle sights, line up the shot... and while they're staring at this man, about to end his life... their finger doesn't respond. They can't do it. All factions involved in these wars reported some degree of this happening at some point. Then, the Skinnerian method of marksmanship training was cooked up, where trainees would shoot human-shaped targets as they popped up, and be praised/rewarded. With modern military training, you can get about 9/10 men to be actual killers. Pre-Skinnerian training, barely 2/10 men would shoot to kill.
If you've got a job to do, you have to do it to the best of your ability so you need only focus on that. If you die, you died well.
I don't have any first hand knowledge about this phenomena of "chickenshititus" but I do understand what it is. It is because most men are worthless cretins who have a million excuses for why they can't do the simplest things.
My whole life, I've seen people freeze up and fail to fight, including these "ex-special forces" bozos. They'd rather just curl up into a ball and see anyone they (don't really) care about get fucked over than to take a chance and go down swinging. They'll do anything to avoid combat with the enemy, it's really pathetic. I don't know how you can even call yourself a man if you are like this but most men are absolutely like this.
I was in the weight room today, marveling how the shitheads had managed to put everything in the wrong place, turning the place into an absolute dump after the owners had spent last weekend making things perfect, all because they "don't care" about anything.
Maybe you don't see how these things are related but they absolutely are. It's pure selfishness. They can't fight the enemy because they don't care about anyone but themselves, their fears, their neurosis, their laziness...fucking things up for everyone else because of how THEY feel. Once their womanly emotions start, that's all that exists to them.
Imagine coming to a place to "train" and being too lazy to put the weights away after you use them. I've organized the entire gym between sets for a little extra work and it was not that hard. Consequently, I'm in shape and can do things.
Do these people imagine that they're getting the same benefit from training that I am? They are not, because they don't care.
Then I went into the bathroom and the toilets were not flushed and there's shit everywhere, all for a bunch of assholes who are just there to fuck things up for everyone else while deriving very little benefit for themselves.
I went into the parking lot and no one stopped for me at the stop signs on the road even though, "law and order" and "empathy" is allegedly so important to them.
Ridiculous, and you would hesitate to pull the trigger?
These are "average, everyday" people in a pretty rural area and apparently, most of of them don't even deserve to live. They're a bunch of dirtbags and they aren't even the enemy.
Imagine how I feel about them. lol
Let's be clear. Artillery and aircraft bombs are the killer of infantry more than rounds. 80% during ww1 iirc
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