Have you ever seen a movie that depicted a soldier defecating in his pants in combat? Or can you imagine years after combat bouncing your grandchild on your knee when they ask, "Grandpa, what did you do in the war? The very last thing you will probably want to say is, "Well, grandpa crapped himself!" The problem however is that when this kid grows up, ends up in combat, and has messed his pants, he'll ask himself, "what's wrong with me? This didn't happen to grandpa. I must be a coward!"
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The official study of the performance of all U.S. soldiers in WWII, "American Soldier" tells of one survey in which a quarter of all U.S. soldiers in WWII admitted that they had lost control of their bladders with an eighth of them admitted to defecating in their pants. If we look only at the individuals at the "tip of the spear" and factor out those who did not experience intense combat, we can estimate that approximately 50 percent of those who did see intense combat admitted they had wet their pants and nearly 25 percent admitted they had messed themselves. Of course, those are the ones who admitted it, so the actual number may be higher. Have you ever seen a movie that depicted a soldier defecating in his pants in combat? Or can you imagine years after combat bouncing your grandchild on your knee when they ask, "Grandpa, what did you do in the war? The very last thing you will probably want to say is, "Well, grandpa crapped himself!" The problem however is that years later when this kid grows up, ends up in combat, and has messed his pants, he'll ask himself, "what's wrong with me? This didn't happen to grandpa. I must be a coward!"
To better understand the mental and physical stress of the violence of combat has on warriors, we must understand the body's physiological response in regards to the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. By doing so, warriors can understand that if and when responses such as losing bladder and bowel control happen, it doesn't mean that they are cowards or weak. Furthermore, they and their leaders will be better prepared to understand and live within the realities of their bodies' natural response....
If you would like to to learn more about this topic, please check out the video below on our YouTube Channel, Shoot, Move, Communicate:
Fit for the Fight and Life,
Chris Reardon
Major, USMC
Director, Freedom Fitness America