I finished this book last week, and some of it hit me really powerfully. I really appreciated his breakdown of the physiological realities of conditions yellow, red, black, etc and what that means for operations in a high-danger scenario. Understanding that all the mental and physical responses you will inevitably go through are normal, and there’s no shame in it.
I also have re-established the importance of combat breathing. I used to use it quite a bit while skydiving, And I passed that helping hint on to some of my students who seemed to need it… and now I’m passing it to my children. The ability to bring your heart rate back down at will is a game changer.
Col Grossman laid out the perfect definition of sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs in our society. It all comes back to the mindset required, and the discipline necessary to be a protector instead of a sheep in denial.
I have to agree with SPG1 actual here about the overemphasized impact of video games and media in this book. While I do believe he has a point, in that SOME kids with no discipline or structure to their lives may have a disproportionate impact from violent media, I don’t think kids who are exposed to this are destined to become mindless trained killers. Yes, we use similar types of simulation environments to train warriors, but not in a vacuum. Other training must complement the simulation. If not, every kid that played Mario Kart would be better defensive drivers than their parents.
Further, I truly appreciate his insight into the prevention and treatment of PTSD by decoupling the emotional from the memory. Just understanding what may/will happen to you in one of those lethal scenarios is a huge first step into avoiding the worst of the trauma. As he states, more lives are lost after the event than during.
