meatgrinder, to end all meatgrinders

Let's fight a modern war with 19th century tactics!

With the exception of some stupid stuff that happened in the very early days of the war the tactics they used were the best ones available with the technology of the day. Our ability to shoot had improved exponentially while moving and communicating hadn't changed much since the Civil War. That made trench warfare inevitable.

...and they were treated like shit for it.

The Great War series on YouTube is seriously fucking awesome. I've learned a ton of fascinating history about WWI watching it.

And yeah, that shit did not seem at all fun.

My mom was a psych RN and when we were kids she worked at a V.A. hospital that was essentially a old folks home / mental hospital. Late 60's - early 70's.

She would take me and my sister with her sometimes when she would go in on her off days to catch up on paperwork. There were quite a few WWI vets. Some were just old men in a rest home but there were a few that we were told had shell shock. For that matter there were WWII, Korean War and Vietnam vets there that were in the same shape.

There was one old man who my sister and I loved. They called him Honey. WWI veteran who had probably 1/4 of his skull missing. Huge depression in his head.

Momma would give us a stick of Juicy Fruit gum and tell us to go give it to Honey and visit with him. He loved that gum. And he loved talking to us.

I still think about Honey to this day. I never asked what happened to him in the war. I imagine his life after the war was not great with such an injury.

He seemed happy in that hospital. I know all the nurses loved him.

There were vets who I saw with those behaviors at the V.A. I posted above.

Mom and the other nurses told us which ones we could talk to and which ones to stay away from.

My grandfather survived WWI, the stories he told were horrific.

Can they be treated and recover? I know not all can

When entire units were literally buried alive by artillery fire you know you're unleashing real hell on the minds and bodies of your fellow man.  

Dan Carlin has a series on WWI that is fantastic.  I highly recommend listening to the whole thing.

That was late 60's early 70's.  I don't imagine there was a lot of treatment other than drugs for men in that shape.

All I can say is that that hospital wasn't a hell hole and still isn't to this day. Those men were treated well, housed, fed and taken care of.

Humans were never built for war. It really is a horrible thing.

But man kind is so good at destroying one another. It's almost like it's in our nature

I heard a radio interview of a psychologist who works with vets with PTSD. He made the point that PTSD is not a "disorder" because it is a normal reaction to the horrors of war. Calling it PTS and accepting it as a natural reaction to traumatic events leads to a different path of treatment. In his opinion, he's seen better results with the vets he's treating by approaching it in this manner. I wish I could remember his name.

I can't even begin to fathom the horror of WW1.  Damn.

I disagree.  I think it is more unusual to float through life in a bubble, with zero threats.  Here in the U.S. is a perfect example.  What is normal?  

I know many people with PTSD, some legit, and others I'm confused about because they sat their happy butts on a nice base with great food/showers/ a cot/ mwr computers/ etc.

We were made to handle pressure and stress on a daily basis, but the rigors of warfare are too much for the human mind to cope with, if that weren't the case, we would be a lot more violent society than we already are.