Staff Perspective: “Sebastian Junger: Why veterans miss war”
I recently watched a very powerful video by famed author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger, entitled “Why veterans miss war”. As part of the TED Talk series, he discusses his experiences in Afghanistan and what he learned about the soldiers he spent time alongside.
As the title indicates, he provides insight into the somewhat counter-intuitive reality of why Veterans miss war. This can be a difficult concept for many people to grasp. After all, why would someone miss being far from home, in an uncomfortable, dirty and dangerous environment? As difficult as it can be to understand, this is a vital concept for working with Service members and Veterans.
Rather than explain Junger’s reasons and rationale on the question, I will simply encourage everyone to watch the brief (13 minutes) video. I’ve included the video below and see them for yourself. If you find his experiences valuable, I would also highly recommend watching his award-winning documentary “Restrepo” and/or book “War”, both of which cover his time spent in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan.
Chris Adams is a Project Manager with the Online Services team at the Center for Deployment Psychology headquarters in Bethesda, MD.
I recently watched a very powerful video by famed author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger, entitled “Why veterans miss war”. As part of the TED Talk series, he discusses his experiences in Afghanistan and what he learned about the soldiers he spent time alongside.
As the title indicates, he provides insight into the somewhat counter-intuitive reality of why Veterans miss war. This can be a difficult concept for many people to grasp. After all, why would someone miss being far from home, in an uncomfortable, dirty and dangerous environment? As difficult as it can be to understand, this is a vital concept for working with Service members and Veterans.
Rather than explain Junger’s reasons and rationale on the question, I will simply encourage everyone to watch the brief (13 minutes) video. I’ve included the video below and see them for yourself. If you find his experiences valuable, I would also highly recommend watching his award-winning documentary “Restrepo” and/or book “War”, both of which cover his time spent in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan.
Chris Adams is a Project Manager with the Online Services team at the Center for Deployment Psychology headquarters in Bethesda, MD.