A Closer Look at “Warless Warriors”
Leave it all on the table, but let go of the outcome
This is the article that gave me the inspiration to start writing after the military. I read this before I ever deployed, or found my feet on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria. And now that I have, it resonates even further.
I’ve given my gratitude multiple times that I got a ton of overseas experience without ever having to be a trigger-puller. My worst fear in writing is that someone will accuse me of trying to come across as someone that I am not - but for a long time I wished I could get more action, be more involved, be the guy whose stories could have been recreated into some kind of an action movie.
It’s taken time, more than I would like, to get over this. But every once in a while I return to this article and it reminds me of an important aspect of service - not everyone who volunteers for violence will find it, and maybe not everyone should.
“You might not end up a war hero, but just a small part of someone else’s war story.”
Sebastian Junger’s research has shown that only about 10% of military servicemen will be involved in direct combat. Although, it seems everywhere you turn you come across a so-called “combat veteran.” There are additional benefits that combat veterans are entitled to, rightfully so, but the most coveted of those benefits is the term itself - to be called a combat veteran is to gain some kind of additional respect from society, and most of all, other veterans.
This quiet glorification of the “combat veteran” encourages more men to volunteer for it. This isn’t a bad thing; there should be a large pool of willing and capable men and women who can be ready to fight in a moment’s notice. Maybe it is God’s will, luck, or coincidence that decides who actually sees war up close.
I came across a book called Zero Hour by Leon Davidson that I will borrow from to illustrate some important points about combat-seekers. The book is about the Anzacs (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and their experience in the First World War. Different from any other war story you’ve read, there is no glory; only horrible and gruesome reality. Davidson writes the story of the Anzacs eloquently, but bluntly.
“Private Leonard Hurse had begged to take part after being selected to stay behind. As he ploughed through the mud he turned to Lance Corporal Ernest Williams, bellowing, ‘I wouldn’t have missed this for a thousand.’ He was shot through the head.”
People will fight tooth and nail, seek medical or ASVAB waivers, and get into the best physical condition of their lives, with the understanding that it could all go out in an instant. The final sentence of that paragraph might shock the reader. Understand how a young man could have been enthralled with the idea of service, adventure, camaraderie, or any other aspect of war, and even work tirelessly to get there. A volunteer should also know how quickly and easily it could be over.
“The men, who were mainly single, volunteered for many reasons—to see the world, for the adventure, to defeat the ‘barbaric’ Germans, to escape unhappiness, to see the ‘mother country’, or to fight for the English King, the British Empire, and their own country. Others needed a job, and the army was paying five shillings a day for the New Zealanders and six for the Australians. Some men just went because their mates were going.”
From the Great War to the GWOT, and the foreign men volunteering to fight in Ukraine, some things about service never change. I don’t know any two veterans that joined for the exact same reason during my generation’s war, but I know many that joined for some of the reasons listed above, myself included. In the next generation of men who volunteer, I imagine some will join for the thrill, while some will join to get their college paid for. Some see the value in both.
“Sergeant Cecil Malthus, another Gallipoli veteran from New Zealand, couldn’t pretend to rejoice at going in again. ‘The front line is rather like heaven,’ he said, ‘everybody writes it up but nobody really wants to go there.’”
This highlights my point, probably better than anything I’ve written yet. Some people really were put on Earth for combat, and yet others are missing some other-than-physical piece of what makes up a combat veteran: luck, God, a prophecy, right-place, right-time, or something else. Either way, maybe the 10% should not be envied for their experience.
Regardless of your reason for service, a good philosophy is to put your all into it and let go of the outcome. Maybe you will achieve all of your goals, and maybe you’ll find that your goals change over time. Maybe you will be left wanting more, regardless of your effort. Maybe it doesn’t matter, because “the wheel keeps on turning” long after we are gone.