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DEL.ICIO.USStoicism gives troops ‘armor for the soul’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Curtis Compton/AJC
Reading material helps Pvt. Shane Berry (top) during Stoic Resilience Training. Capt. Thomas Jarrett uses the works of ancient philosophers.
Baghdad, Iraq— Sgt. Rustin Kilburg sat in the patient’s chair, his head down, his anguished face perched between his hands.
He told the three medics before him of sleepless nights — he was angry with his commanders for putting him “out there,” exposed to suicide bombers and roadside bombs day after day.
The anger within was consuming. He was miserable. He was afraid it would interfere with his soldiering abilities.
The medics attempted to convince Kilburg that he should not dwell on what he could not control. Rather, he should focus on what he could do to make the circumstances less troubling to him.
The training session borrowed heavily from the discourses of Greek philosopher Epictetus: “Of things some are in our power, and others are not.”
Call it armor for the soul.
Soldiers in Iraq are finding that the basic tenets of Greek and Roman stoicism can help relieve stress in the combat zone. That self-control and detachment from distracting emotions can allow clear thinking and levelheadedness.
The soft-spoken Kilburg, who serves in a Gainesville-based infantry unit, was acting the part of a distraught soldier in one of Camp Liberty’s medical centers during a training session for medics who counsel their peers in the war zone.
In the end, Kilburg said, the principles of stoicism — character, strength and resilience — form the essence of a modern American warrior.
Five months ago, Kilburg, distraught over problems with his girlfriend, went to see Capt. Thomas Jarrett, an Army therapist with the 602nd Area Supply Medical Company based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Jarrett, 44, a longtime student of philosophy, turned Kilburg on to the stoic philosophers, who first appeared in Hellenistic Athens around 300 B.C.
Kilburg became a student and then a peer counselor in the Stoic Resilience Training program, interweaving the principles of stoicism into words of advice for his fellow soldiers in the Georgia National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team.
“Our beliefs are what affect our emotions,” Kilburg said. “And most emotions are needless suffering which comes from distorted beliefs.”
In the past few weeks, soldiers in Kilburg’s unit, Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, have been frustrated over the changes in their timeline to go home. Kilburg, however, has remained calm.
“You’ve got two choices,” he said. “Be frustrated or understand that you cannot control it.”
He said stoics believe there are only four things a person can control: their own actions, emotions, thoughts and desires.
“I cannot control the fact that I am in Iraq right now,” Kilburg said. “I can be miserable, or I can take the view that this is some sort of test that will strengthen me.”
“I came to a war, but this is one of the better things that has happened to me,” said Kilburg of his exposure to philosophical thought.
New career path in mind
He now thinks of returning home and pursuing a degree in philosophy.
Kilburg joined the military in 1998 and has been in an out of college since then. His superiors here call him one of the toughest soldiers in the company; the soldiers on his team respect him and have at one time or another been enlightened by Kilburg and Jarrett and their passion for philosophy.
Stoicism is not new to military culture. The teachings of Epictetus, Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius dovetail well with the military ethos.
Retired Adm. James Stockdale, perhaps best remembered as Ross Perot’s vice presidential running mate in 1992, was a student of philosophy who leaned on stoic beliefs to keep himself sane during the seven years he spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Author Nancy Sherman interviewed Stockdale for her book, “Stoic Warriors,” a look into how stoicism helps soldiers get through the psychological hardships of war.
Kilburg said some people mistake stoicism for the “suck-it-up” and feel-nothing mentality of the Army.
“It’s the Army’s motto, but there’s no method for people to do it,” Kilburg said. “It’s not like [stoicism is] telling you to not feel any emotion. The idea is that there is a bandwidth of emotions.
“The stoic approach would be to say, ‘Hey, I know it’s difficult’ but the level of difficulty depends on how I see the problem. You can put me in the trench lines for 72 hours, but I can be stronger for it. It can be a true test for our souls.”
A calming factor
The No. 1 problem Kilburg hears about is marital woes. He tells his soldiers they cannot control the actions of a spouse back home.
“You can either accept it, or you can move on with your life,” he said.
Kilburg is known to be high-strung at times, a man “who can fly off the handle,” a description he dismisses as a façade.
The study of stoicism has helped calm him, he said. And he has become much more tolerant of people and circumstances.
“Sure I’d love to go home and see my family, but ultimately what benefit is there to get frustrated about it?” he asked.
Kilburg lives by the rule that a true warrior prays for peace but trains for war.
Inner strength and resilience are often lost in today’s military establishment, Kilburg said
“I don’t think we train warriors anymore,” he said. “We’ve completely lost the spirit of a warrior and glorified all the ugliness of war.”
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By Momma Kat Orr
March 29, 2006 08:46 AM | Link to this
Here’s another poem I’d like to share…it really “fits” here…
Thank you Soldier
Have you stopped to thank a veteran today? For the price of freedom they had to pay? Did you gaze into those distant eyes? Did you see the ghosts he can’t deny? Did you think a soldier’s heart was made of steel? Because he was trained to kill, he couldn’t feel? Did you see the guilt written on his face, For the loss of life he can’t replace? Did you know he mourns the lives he couldn’t save, And walks with comrades in their grave? Did you remember the boy with innocence lost? Do you really know war’s ultimate cost? Have you felt the blast of artillery fire? Do you have the courage it would require? Have you stood in trenches consumed with fear? Felt the enemies breath so very near? Have you walked with God on a battleground? Seen your brothers dead or dying all around? Have you stopped to thank a vet today, Or did you just turn and walk away? From the pain he’ll carry for the rest of his life, Did you consider his family, his children, his wife? That watch him suffer in silence each and every day, As he’s haunted by memories that don’t go away? Did you care that the soldier is still pulling guard? That his heart, mind, and soul will forever be scarred? Do you know how he suffers from ptsd? Or that our precious freedom is never free? Do you care that he still hears the blood curdling screams? Or that he returns to the war each night in his dreams? Have you felt the sorrow of a combat vet? Or would you rather just forget? That war has pierced his hardened heart, And torn this soldier all apart? Would you rather our heroes just fade away? Or will you stop to thank a vet today?
By Chris Woolnough
Love you all- thank you for all you do Kat in Loganville GA Yikes!
By Buy Danish
March 29, 2006 08:48 AM | Link to this
Inner strength and resilience are often lost in today’s military establishment, Kilburg said
“I don’t think we train warriors anymore,” he said. “We’ve completely lost the spirit of a warrior and glorified all the ugliness of war.”
I love this story. First it is in sharp contrast to the notion that our military are made up of uneducated losers whose only chance in life is to enlist; that they alone end up fighting our wars for us while the educated hide behind the shield of privelege.
Moreover, it points to the importance of teaching historical ideas and concepts - in this case the Greek and Roman philosophers.
Thanks to political-correctness, these studies have largely been removed from our curricula and replaced with new age, ego-centric oatmeal. We have feminized and radicalized education to the point that our nation’s character has been weakened.
Camile Paglia, one feminist that I admire, deplores “women’s studies” courses and the like. Women AND men need to be warriors, but even the men don’t often get that opportunity anymore, and in fact they are made to feel guilty for being born men. No wonder they are dropping out of school.
Our children’s role models are not philosopher kings, but slackers and professional protesters, and that needs to change - starting with history, not social studies, classes in Middle School.
By Buy Danish
March 29, 2006 09:54 AM | Link to this
Testing. Does Cynthia Tucker personally approve comment on this blog or do I just need to be stoic and patient?