A year has passed and your tour is ending. You get off the plane and see your family with balloons, posters, and even a TV camera or two, joining in the joyous reunion. What the public doesn’t see is the aftereffects of war on a person, which isn’t as nice as seeing soldiers reunite with those that they love. Recently, there was a massacre in Afghanistan, committed by Sergeant Robert Bales, who killed 17 civilians. This event has brought up the question of soldiers’ state of minds. Many soldiers go through multiple tours, which is difficult and they have to balance this with their personal responsibilities. It doesn’t end when soldiers come home; they have trained their senses to work in a war zone which at times is not compatible with civilian life.

Adrian Bonenberger’s battalion was worried over personal issues; he  was concerned with how his soldiers would act coming home and which common problems would succumb to his soldiers. Being a captain wasn’t easy because he had to deal with the fragile balance between protecting his soldiers and completing the missions that were assigned. Soldiers are also nervous about how they can tell others about being in war. Some soldiers, like Specialist Billy Moody, will only tell his wife and family. Infantryman Alex Horton went to college after his tour, kept his war experience a secret, fearing being judged by civilians. When these men and women come home from war, the statistics are against them. One in four of them will suffer from a drinking problem, one in eight suffers from PTSD, and 17% are currently unemployed after serving, nearly twice as high than the general population.

Soldiers deal with being in war zone in different ways; they become hyper vigilant, ready for the attack. After a soldier leaves, it becomes hard to ‘turn off’ this sense. Mr. Connell, a Navy veteran, had difficulties toning down his military senses when he became a student at the University of Iowa. “I had feelings of bad anxiety. You are always super vigilant at all times. In these 300-person lecture halls, you are just surrounded by people you don’t know.” The families of soldiers also struggle with their loved ones coming. Sergeant Eisch, possibly suffering from PTSD, has recurring nightmares. His two young sons also suffer from nightmares of their father being injured. There was a recent survey held by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America which asked veterans questions in multiple topics, including mental health. Two-thirds of those surveyed thought that veterans weren’t getting the sufficient mental help and another two-thirds (of 80% who are in long-term relationships) said that their relationships had increased tension by deployments. Six out of ten said that readjusting to civilian life was difficult.

In the military, there is a strong alcohol culture and some have conjectured that this played a part in the Kandahar Massacre because Sgt. Robert Bales had been drinking the night before and other soldiers abusing alcohol. After a tough week of training on base, soldiers are looking to unwind and alcohol helps.

They stop being soldiers for a moment and become friends, regardless of their ranking. Steven Griffin, a former Army Officer, discusses this phenomena. “As a young platoon leader, I remember seeing Facebook photos of my soldiers having these parties in their barrack’s rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. ...It was obvious by the smiles on their faces that this was when the bonding was done. It was their chance to leave rank at the door, kick back with their fellow platoon mates, talk about better times, and bask in the glory of being a soldier. And when outsiders want to know where the drive to run head-on into enemy fire during combat to pull a fellow soldier to safety comes from, they need not look much further than this.” It helps them bond. However, soldiers start to associate this good feeling with alcohol and it is one of the reasons why soldiers abuse alcohol. When in combat, there is a blanket ban on alcohol so when their tour is over, they drink to get back “the good stuff,” which is how Officer Griffin tries to describe this feeling of adrenaline. Soldiers also drink for the more commonly known reason, which is to forget what they saw. Some are saying, don’t blame it on the alcohol. A commenter, JohnB, a veteran, on the “At War Blog” section of the New York Times said, “There is no excusing such behavior -- there is a reason we’re forbidden from drinking in a war zone -- this soldier violated that and others pay the price.”

With a tragedy, we must rethink what is happening. The Obama Administration is currently weighing the pros and cons of leaving Afghanistan faster. However, President Obama warned against abandoning post and running out. “It’s important for us to make sure that we get out in a responsible way, so that we don’t end up having to go back in.” Others are also hoping for more service for veterans. Kristin, another commenter at the “At War Blog”, said “It is unjust that so many civilians in Afghanistan perish every day. It is unjust that this solider was on his fourth tour and needed medical care he clearly did not receive —a failure for each American citizen. It is unjust that our men and women in the Armed services have been forced to serve more tours than is healthy for them and that they have not received the services and care upon return that they deserve.”