Do soldiers feel remorseful after killing in wars?

According to statistics online, it's said that over 13 million Ukrainians have been displaced...

9000 military soldiers died in the Russian-Ukraine war...

Nearly 5600 civilians killed...

(NPR, 2022.)

As for Myanmar, according to the article at World Report, 500 civilians were killed...

An estimation of 81637 people were displaced because of the internal war that took place in Myanmar...

Many civilians who was fighting against the Military army was maimed and died tragically...

(World Report, 2021).

After watching various documentaries on Youtube about the battlefields in both Myanmar and Russia-Ukraine wars...

I was overwhelmed by my queries of the psychological state of the soldiers who fought for their own nations and the impacts of war on the civilians' mental health.

Thus, I decided to take a step to take a look at the insights of the wars and navigate through the truths.

How do the soldiers cope with the killings?

In 2007, a video footage of U.S apache helicopter pilot shooting a reporter and other civilians shook us all. (Horgan, 2010). The conversation between the pilots revealed their joy in killing.

Some extracts of the conversations: "We had a great day. We killed a lot of people."

When asked about the Iraqi woman who was shot, the pilots simply said that "the chick" was getting in the way of our killing."

We have this common question in our heads.

"Do the soldiers get a kick out of killing?"

Schrumpf effect - the apparent satisfaction soldiers feel after killing another human being. Soldiers killing - does it stems from nature or nurture? An anthropologist from Harvard University claims that this behavior stems from nature. His scientific research on chimpanzees ( our closest genetic relatives ), asserts that natural selection was embedded in both male chimpanzees and male humans.

This meant that male chimpanzees and male humans attack other members of the rival group out of their innate propensity where their intent was to hurt or kill one or more victims.

In addition, he mentioned that male humans enjoy the opportunity of killing others, especially when there was slim chance that he will be killed in the process of the killing. (Horgan, 2010).

Do the soldiers feel remorseful after killings?

Whilst research has shown that almost anyone can kill another human and even feel exhilarated in the first few killings, in the subsequent killings they undoubtedly would have feelings of remorse and regret.

Many soldiers who participated in the war and killings were found to have exhibited the symptoms of Post-Traumatic-Symptoms-Disorder, better known as PTSD.

These troubles felt by combat veterans are key evidences that there is still a powerful innate resistance for humans to kill their own species. (Horgan, 2010).

I was looking at one of the Myanmar Vs Military Coup video footage on Youtube.

The video was interviewing several families whose family members were killed by the Military Coup in the most cruel ways.

"They took off the clothes of my husband. He was naked and he was blindfolded. His dead body were filled with lots of knifes wounds. They chopped off his limbs."

Why?

Is that a psychopath using the name of being a part of the military coup committing a serious crime of murdering another citizen out of rage or submission to the military coup?

It certainly felt like a murder that was entangled in the political movement in Myanmar. It felt unethical and I could feel the wraths such injustice has brought upon those victims.

Why do professional soldiers commit acts of personal violence that contravene the law of war?

The law of war - according to an article, it's known as the International Humanitarian Law.

It's stated that this law protects those who are not fighting - the civilians and the medical personnel.

In this case, the brutal soldier who has put the victim through the torturous procedure of slow killing, has breached the law of war.

According to the International Humanitarian Law, one of the clauses stated that targeting civilians is considered as a war crime.

So, why then do these soldiers still proceed with committing acts of personal violence despite of the law of war?

According to an online article written by Wing Commander (2007), he stated that it's impossible to let loose the beast in the man and expects it to be closed off at a short notice.

Analysis of the World War I have shown a large number of soldiers who have used force unnecessarily in the war that was kept under the blanket up till to date as many voiced out that these are just some internal consequences of wars.

However, as the public opinion from the Western countries changed their perspectives on wars, many would not hesitate to condemn any unnecessary acts of violence when evidences of such acts were traced.

Soldiers have been trained to apply moderate forces in the midst of wars and are clear of the Laws Of The Armed Conflicts.

This probably was one of the reasons that has led to the uproar of calling out on such violence acts since the modern world we are living today have greater concerns on humanity and human rights.

It's ironic how on one side of the globe, everything remains the same - waking up, going to work and coming home... Whilst on the other side of the globe, we have people living in fear, protesting for their own rights in their countries, separated from their loved ones, going to wars, missing their home and so on...

Whilst we complain about the hot weather, the other part of the globe worries for their safety and maybe even the existence of the next meal...

Glancing at the other side of the globe using technology helped me to realise that my problems are really not that much of a hassle. It also makes me want to tear up to see that I cannot do much in this regard to make things better. I could only pray from a distance as an outsider from the other side of the globe, wishing that all is well.