Ready but never eager

The soldier’s head is protected by the combat helmet from blunt impact and ballistic fragments, whereas the body armour is designed to protect vital organs in the torso. But where does the soldier get the necessary protection for the mind? Built from within by ourselves, protection for the mind at the force level remains the leader’s responsibility.

On the battlefield and at war, the soldier must face issues that are kept at bay in everyday life. Under wartime conditions, violence, death, and the emotion of fear are ever-present. Being prepared requires more than training for accrued competence and skills. To be ready for combat, if need be, soldiers must be trained and exercised comprehensively.

The key is to understand that also psychological readiness can be developed and improved.

Traditionally, military training emphasises instruction of competence and skills; first relevant theory, then practical hands-on training until sustaining the ability to apply the acquired skills in varying situations. All this plays a key role in survival on the battlefield. And yet, when examining the soldier’s holistic functional capacity, the impact of emotions, and especially the ability to differentiate emotions, must be considered.

While the physical functional capacity is straightforward, measurable, quantifiable and developable through simple methods, the case is different for psychological capacity. The key is to understand that also psychological readiness can be developed and improved. If the aspect of psychological capacity is completely overlooked, soldiers are at worst viewed as expendables. 

Breeding ground for intense emotions

Soldiers may be thought of as emotionless beings always ready to execute orders as issued, prepared to carry out the tasked mission. And still, it goes without saying that soldiers are human beings with feelings just like anyone else. 

The battlefield is a breeding ground for intense emotions. The emotions of fear, vengefulness, and love are examples of emotions that every soldier faces and that affect mission execution. Controlling the feeling of fear is particularly crucial. Numerous Ukrainian soldiers have said that fear is ever-present. Left unmanaged, the emotion of fear will lead to paralysis.

From the standpoint of the individual, it is vital to find an answer to the question ”Why?”. Why would I be ready to die, and, when necessary, ready to kill?  The answer to this question must be determined on a very personal level. For instance, it is not enough to answer that all this is to defend our Fatherland, freedom, and democracy. The answer needs to be on an individual level much deeper and much more detailed. 

In its simplicity, motivation can usually be found by answering to the question “What is it that matters most to me?”. For most of us, this encompasses our nearest and dearest, friends, and home. At some point, frontline solidarity may be used as a justification. The key is knowing how to ask oneself this question.

Yet what if the news received on the front line is about how our home was destroyed in an enemy strike, and that our loved ones are now deceased? The emotion of love that motivated the soldier up to that point to fight and cope is almost certainly replaced by emotions of hatred and vengeance. As with the emotion of fear, one must learn to manage these emotions too.

Collective shield

Psychological preparation for the battle and baptism of fire starts from the first meeting of the leader and their unit. Finnish military leaders’ core virtues such as exemplariness, trustworthiness, integrity, impartiality, and fairness are the characteristics that the leader resorts to while preparing their unit for battle.  

All training and activity that improve group cohesion, sense of camaraderie, and strengthen emotional unity, will generate collective protection for the unit. This creates a sense of collective coping and pulling together. Although we can prepare for the baptism of fire and battle, absolute preparedness remains out of our reach. 

Preparing can be broken down into the components of physical and psychological preparation. With physical and psychological preparation, it is possible to improve psychological protection on the level of the soldier and of the force. At its best, this creates a collective coping mechanism for the mind. 

As said, physical preparation encompasses competence and skills. Proficiency in handling personal defence weapons, providing combat first aid, and implementing tactics, techniques and procedures from the soldier’s level to that of a force instills a sense of agency to a chaotic battlefield. This creates a collective sense of coping. Underlying all of this is training. The leader is responsible for exercising their unit progressively for sustained capability to respond to unexpected situations as well.

It is possible to prepare for the baptism of fire also psychologically. Take, for instance, a well-known method in the sporting world, visualization, which is an effective means to prepare the mind for what one may have to encounter in combat. This, however, presupposes that the leader is able to tell their subordinates in sufficient detail how they assume the enemy to operate. As such, this must be differentiated from the estimated enemy course of action.

Addressing the possibility that one may die will also provide the means to manage death anxiety.

In all likelihood, as the threat of war escalates, thoughts on and fear of dying and having to kill will surface, and be very probably voiced to the immediate superior. The leader must be prepared to support their subordinates in addressing these concerns. It is absolutely vital that the leader tackle these matters proactively on an individual level, on their own part, ahead of time. 

Addressing the possibility that one may die will also provide the means to manage death anxiety. If the leader has been able to generate a strong sense of unity and atmosphere of trust and psychological safety among their troops, death can be dealt with collectively by discussing, for instance, how each person wishes to be treated in case lethally wounded. If we can achieve this, the force will become even stronger. 

Of particular importance is to guide one’s subordinates to reflect on the ‘why’ question. A highly effective instrument for this purpose is writing the ’Just in case’ letter.  Doing so will provide a clearer picture of who your nearest and dearest are for whom you would be ready to give your all. 

Last of all

A counterpoint can be raised whether it might better not to think about death and rather take situations as they come. Still, I believe that by addressing the possibility of death in advance we create conditions for managing the emotion of fear.

Addressing this issue proactively helps us focus on the essential: the mission that we are tasked with. For the leader, this means command and control. Decision-making in a way that minimises the risk for everyone, without letting the emotion of fear paralyse our actions. A soldier must be ready to die but never eager to do so.
 

Course Director, Reserve Officer Course
Lieutenant Colonel Tino Savolainen