British Royal Marine is world's deadliest sniper

originally posted by: mindseye1609
a reply to: ladyinwaiting

I work with some vets with Ptsd too. That's a very confusing and misunderstood area of study. I hold a firm belief that head trauma leads to horromone imbalance which helps progress the spiraling. (In some cases )

Also just to highlight the other side of this argument, I've met and s pokem at length with more then a few enlisted men that have some just plain gruesome stories..... And they love every second. Stories of knife kills told through smiles bigger then a kid at a carnival. Heard one guy tell about how his mk48 blew this guys arm off and he laughed so hard when he told me this, "HAH TOOK HIS FREAKIN ARM RIGHT OFF.. IT WAS AWSOME!"

O i'm sure some of that is just coping but I garantee you theirs plenty that made all the right calls and doesn't feel bad about any of their time there.

It takes a unique person to go to war and transition back successfully butts possible. Don't count on every vet being a depressed anxiety ridden suicide watch case, many are just kicking back waiting for the bell to ring and the next round to start.. Just chompin at the bit.

I knew a guy that was in the Korean war, said that he had machine gunned so many Chinese he couldn't count them . He was ok for thirty years, but then the nightmares started, and he had all kinds of problems. Who puts people in that position, should have to do it themselves. At twenty he was great, a hero, at fifty , he was wondering, at his own mortality and if their would be any comeback.

a reply to: mindseye1609

Yeah, you won't get an argument from me that those people exist, I'm sure they likely do. I have a tendency to meet only the ones who have severe symptoms. People are wired so differently. But I would be willing to wager those other folks have...issues...of a different nature.

anonentity It's distressing to hear that. Is he alcoholic I wonder? I say it all the time, and I'll say it again. Human beings aren't cut out for war anymore. After WWII, they called it 'shellshock' I think, then after Vietnam, they came up with a more specific diagnostic criteria. But yeah, it all sucks big time. Plus, the crap can come and go. You'll be okay for a few years, then Bam! It hits you again.
I wish we had a more effective treatment. It's so frustrating.

But of course there are those who make a full recovery in a few weeks, without any treatment whatsoever. And those, like mindseye said, that never experience it.

Anyway, I hope the OP doesn't see this to-the-side conversation as derailment. Not my intention.

Have a good conversation guys.

a reply to: Irishhaf
Never shot a mosin before, so ill take your word. But Simo seemed to like it. IMO his story is far more deserving of a movie than Chris Kyle. I hate myself for saying it. But he can take a bullet better.

a reply to: ladyinwaiting

Basically drinking and sleepless nights, it seems it takes up a lot of thinking time.

a reply to: anonentity

Gotta remain mission oriented. Idle hands are the devils play things. In the case of ptsd that statement is extra true.

Alcohol is the other monster ptsd enabler. After they fry the brain with prescriptions some guys go right over the top with only a few drinks. I've heard a guy lose it even when surrounded by friends at a trade show on an amazing situation just because he had a few drinks.

I personally hold strong that ptsd has less to do with the actions of the warriors and what happened to them and more to do with brain chemistry. I reckon some of these guys/gals would be able t handle the beginning of the depression spiral if they weren't first addicted to so many Meds and 2 if horromone were in balance.

Check out the work dr mark l gordon is doing. I reckon he's on the right path

a reply to: mindseye1609

My baby brother has 23 years and counting in the US Army.. he's been to every hot zone and has seen his fair share of action... He seems to be coping fairly well but like you mentioned, he loves his beer.. to the point I'm concerned..

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

These are the actions a good man/soldier takes. He is keeping a low profile to protect his family and that is more important than fame to him......BRAVO.



These men are not hero's they are very good at a job and that job is killing people. This is not heroic but needed in times of war. If this man risked his life for his fellow soldiers than yes he is a hero. The criteria for a hero should never be how many people they have neutralized.

a reply to: CaptainTwig

I'm sure it's a good rifle if it's what you grew up on/learned on, I just think even in that time frame there were superior rifles.

Just makes his abilities all the more amazing to me, I would love to see his story on the big screen.

a reply to: HooHaa

I'm a big proponent for the "other intoxicant" , that's still federally illegal, for vets. I've met more then a few who swears by it. Theirs even some foundations springing up being ran by veterans for veterans to help supply them with their meds and give a veteran mission oriented environment that's not hard on cannabis.

For some I'm sure this isn't the answer and only another masking/coping mechanism but Imo it's a lot better for them then alcohol.

Someday we will look back on all this ptsd and hopefully be rid of it. Less wars to cause it. Better treatments when it's needed. Then guys like the sniper in the OP(no idea if he's in a bad way or not) can do their job knowing they have support in the end. someday..

He used a mosin without a sight because he believed the extra height you had to lift your head made all the difference. He could keep a much lower profile.

The man used to block comms by shooting out wires..with iron sights. Crazy.

a reply to: SubTruth

If this man risked his life for his fellow soldiers than yes he is a hero. The criteria for a hero should never be how many people they have neutralized.

He was killing Taliban in an area known to be a stronghold and during a campaign that had international UN approval. The men he was killing would be prepared to kill British troops. Wouldn't this mean that he was preventing loss of life on the British side? Saving lives?

Did he risk his own life? He was in hostile territory and may well have drawn enemy fire.

I think most people are capable of heroism without being heroes. I mean, what is a hero anyway? Is it a way of life? A character trait? A mind-set? Nobody can be a hero all day and every day.