Applied Military Psychology

However, when other societies could not have the same resources due to various issues, most communities resorted to war rather than attempt peaceful means of negotiating for the same items. Thus, civilizations decided to create warriors who were trained to protect the valued resources of the society and also invade other regions to increase the number of resources when theirs were depleted. Nevertheless, as the societies continued to advance, the issues which lead to war also increased. Ultimately, the formation of countries and boundaries required that the same nations have an army. The army, also known as the military, was a unit that consisted of individuals who are trained to protect and defend the rights of its citizens as well as the resources that are available in the country.

Additionally, the same individuals are instilled with strict discipline characteristics that ensure they will always listen and carry out the orders from their commanding officers without a question or any form of hesitation. Still, the focus on the training offered to the soldiers only attempted to increase their efficacy before and during wars. The psychological aspect of the soldiers was never a concern for the military. However, after the Second World War, the issues of the psychological impact of the soldiers that survived the war started to arise. Many of the people who had served in the military during the war came back with extreme post-traumatic disorder syndrome (PTSD) and even some could not integrate into the regular life. Nevertheless, the findings from the studies are still few and there are little literature reports on the same subject (Herdman, 1991).

Thus, more research should be conducted to guarantee the mental stability of the people who risk their lives to protect civilians. This paper will respond to several questions on the subject of military psychology. The purpose of the report will be to guarantee that the field of military psychology will receive more attention and that more scholars can conduct further studies on the subject. This measure will ensure that the military training that the soldiers receive provides a holistic learning and training experience that will not only enhance the efficiency of the military soldiers but will also enable them to recover from the mental and emotional stress experienced at war. This situation ensures a fully trained soldier can react correctly during combat without having to process or assess the situation.

Thus, the military training ensures that the soldiers are pushed to their limit both mentally and physically so that their reactions during different scenarios can be seen and the ones who present the ability to be able to follow the protocols offered during training even under such extreme conditions are often considered the best soldiers (Belenky, 1997). Biological and physiological rhythms can undermine the performance of a soldier. Most of the missions of the military are not intensive and soldiers often have an easy time where they just train and wait for a more mission. However, when intensive operations come up, the same soldiers will have to undergo severe conditions. Eventually, the person starts to become weaker as the proteins in the system are also consumed.

This situation makes the individual incapable of carrying out any form of military actions. Additionally, such levels of starvation can push a soldier to eat plants and animals that are likely to be poisonous. These decisions that arise from hunger can easily reduce the performance of the soldier (Cogan, 2016). Thus, it is crucial for the military training to include aspects of physical; and mental endurance when it comes to hunger. On the other hand, psychological fatigue can be a result of various issues. The individual could have faced harrowing events or situations that make their brain incapable of processing or making decisions, they could have stayed without sleep for long hence their attention skills are limited, or the person could no longer reason or think due to the training or the combat experience (Chiarelli & Michaelis, 2005).

A military commander should be more concerned about the psychological fatigue rather than the physiological fatigue. The soldiers’ psychology always controls their physiological aspects. Military training always boosts both the psychological and the physiological condition of the person. Soldiers in the military have to be equally trained to develop mental strength so that when they are in combat or during operations they can react quickly to various situations. This reaction time should not be affected by the mental or emotional situation of the soldier and neither should the current conditions of their lives have an impact on their military training (Chiarelli & Michaelis, 2005). Finally, the full spectrum of operations for a soldier includes the exposer to various environmental conditions. Military personnel who operate on land should be able to train in different environments such as deserts and even extremely cold environments.