Stress and Strife

I apologize for the postponement of my blog entries, our internet here on South Camp is about as reliable as McNabb on any given Sunday. They're working on fixing it, all the while I'm writing so as to give everyone a nice long post to read once the internet comes back online.

Today's entry is more of a soapbox address, or rant if you will, regarding my personal take on the difficulties of life on deployment instead of my typical day-in-review. Please note this isn't a college thesis, merely thoughts and feelings I wish to share. Without further adieu:

Whether it be someone pounding on your door 15 minutes before you're required to wake up, being sleep deprived and pushed to physical limits, or being in constant altercations and confrontations with testosterone driven coworkers, the overbearing complications of stress are nonparallel to any other factor I have faced thus far. I've decided that the two nouns which claim today's post's title embody the definition of life in the military; although these two constant factors are almost implied and expected, the reality of the matter is that stress plays a huge part in realizing and accomplishing our mission. It is the ultimate test of discipline and for many, a daunting, perpetual thing. I also added strife, or struggle, to the title, which ultimately is a bi-product of stress. In my opinion, it is the individual's reaction to the stress which causes this discord, creating a proportional impacting effect on daily life here, even on a peacekeeping mission.

It doesn't take a scientist to discover why there is so much conflict between the soldiers here. Although generally from the same state and/or region back home, we've all grown up in different neighborhoods, with different lifestyles and our own stories to tell. It is our backgrounds and ultimately our upbringings that make us who we are. You can train anyone to be a soldier, but the ways of their past will always remain. No one likes to be wrong. Pride is a big part of a soldier's life, and goes along with our value of honor. Competition and the desire to be right are a result of this pride, stemming from the machismo "tough guy" attitude. None of this is news to anyone, it's a fact of life, but catching someone on a bad day and making the wrong comment or jest in this environment often ends in argument and hostility.

While it's almost proven that people in the armed forces are drawn toward confrontations and would prefer to escalate a situation before defusing it, I still find it interesting how the many straining situations that we endure in this line of work, ultimately affect morale and well being. Going from a heated argument one moment to laughing all together the next makes me realize that it's necessary, no matter how frustrating it all can be. This is equally true in all relationships that man endures. Even more interesting than this is the effect these two factors, stress and strife, have on work efficiency and mission success. I have seen first hand that when it comes down to the wire and something needs to get done, that stress pushes everyone to achieve the objective at hand; in serious times we realize our wrongs and work together. It's ironic how stress works both way.

Now that I've made the individuals surrounding me sound like barbaric brutes, I must clarify. To rebut my own view of the atrocities of my new society, I will say, in defense of my own, that it is not as bad as I make it seem. The extreme perspective I take on these issues may very well be exaggerated, but sometimes it really does seem that bad. Being entrusted the duties we share should be enough to convince us to keep our cool, but often times we don't.

Another major problem I notice already, just weeks into the deployment is as a whole, the organization to which I belong has an abuse problem in the form of tobacco and alcohol consumption. Seeing as I am only 19 years old, I guess it is more of an eye-opener to me because I, as an American citizen, am still under U.S. jurisdictional drinking age laws even in Egypt. I'm sure if I was to partake in that endeavor I'd see it differently. I understand the novelty in drinking alcohol, but have never understood why people drink so much of it. Maybe something happens differently after the 11th beverage that doesn't happen after 4 or 5... oh, that's right, you become extra dehydrated. I don't think drinking alcohol is wrong, but it's plain stupid to drink excessively. It's a problem I'm sure I'll continue to observe, in some (not all) individuals, throughout my military career.

I am by no means berating or degrading the military man of today, doing so would be doltish and unbecoming of my own self-esteem, I am merely observing and exposing the flaws and drawbacks of our great nation's military; barring the detrimental issues we face, servicemen and women across the military world are debatably some of the most well-minded intellects of the 21st century, mind you poor judgment and indolence aside. The respect I have for anyone in uniform is great. To consider any human being will to sacrifice his or her own life for the better of the entire country a brute barbaric savage is outlandish to say the least. Case and point, think back to the '04 Presidential Race. Ask Senator John Kerry how far he got after calling our troops in Iraq stupid and lazy. One good thing that came from that statement was a wave of support for our troops overseas; thanks Mr. Kerry. Regardless of our flaws, we do our job with attentive detail and discipline and so long as these habits don't hinder or interfere with our work, I guess it's really just a personal choice. As we have great minds among us, we also have individuals at the other end of the spectrum.

As with all jobs, there are certain individuals that you avoid like the black plague and look upon as coworkers and only that. Ironically, for me, some of these individuals are the same individuals who cannot control themselves and their abusive habits. When dealing with powerful weapons and dangerous equipment, one often wakes up wondering whether or not today will be the day that that coworker will find himself cleaning off his desk and emptying his drawers. If only it were so easy. Getting fired from this job entails harsh consequences, so it's better for even the least-apt to wait it out the 8 years. Transversely, there are some people you would be willing to entrust with your families lives with and those are the guys that you wish could cover your back every day, unfortunately this is never the case. These are the people you develop friendships with. I try to be one of the latter types of coworker, but I guess that's a subjective matter.

The same issues I propose in this blog are true in all organizations, including sports teams, social groups, and even religious groups. Some people dismiss these struggles within the best of groups as the "politics" behind the endeavor, the same is true in the military, but rather than to allow adversity to hinder and obstruct progress, our adversity is a natural thing and allows us to operate smoothly. There's no solution to all of the problems, but at least I'm aware of them. It's life, my life, and every chapter to my book is an insightful and educational approach towards my future. I'm definitely learning from this experience.

Picture today is of the mountains at the opposite side of our camp and some of the city of Nabq.