Joining the military is a mutual decision. Soldiers are allowed to begin the basic training after they have undergone through rigorous legal, mental and physical screening process as this is the cornerstone of battlefield performance. There are three major goals of basic training which includes: recruits highlighting their shortcomings and making sure they conform to the standards, norms and behaviors that is required. Secondly, teaching the recruits the specialized knowledge and skills needed to perform the military specialty and the last one is, putting the militants through harsh training to improve their courage, teamwork as well as their physical discomfort. The military finds it useful to strip the trainees of their unique civilian identities so that they are in a position to rebuild the military standard and avoid the effects of training to their mental state.
Many soldiers find it difficult to live without structure because they joined the military straight from high school and they were instructed in what to put on and where to sleep ( Sculos, 2017) . This and other military experience affects them to distrust authority and some cannot even interact with their administrators and professors. To the married veterans, securing housing and employment for their families has also become a problem. They are also likely to experience some of the physical and psychological problems. For example, substance abuse, intimacy problems, and loss related to combat. Their military services may as well make them to suffer rejection and isolation from the faculty. Such experience has destroyed the way they interact with civilians collegiate peers. They are unable to interact in a meaningful way hence the gap between them and the two groups. The Veterans face a lot of difficulties in trying to balance several roles either as veteran, spouse, breadwinner or employee thus leading to emotional and physical distress.
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The three implicit and interlocking components of combat training include: accepting psychological control, the equation of both nine masculine identity with good performance at the military and the military mission with raw aggression. It therefore implies that during training, their superiors exert psychological control which allows sharpening of their masculinity conception ( Sculos, 2017) . Most of the tenants have their masculinity taught and reinforced during military training that is done using behavior modification and Pavlov’s psychological conditioning techniques. Soldiers are always taught how to do something new and are expected to perform it repeatedly until it is done in the right way. During the process, they receive verbal feedback and either punishment or reward based on how an individual performs. The pressure that they receive during training can be traumatic due to the extreme emotional, intellectual and physical demands that are placed on them ( Flakoll et al., 2004) . These factors can make the trainees not to complete their training due to the low stress tolerance and behavioral problem. Like any other family where the parents are expected to teach their children life lessons, small unit leaders normally teach the soldiers the values, tasks and norms that is required of them. A bigger percentage of the training involves masculine norms that are unique to the military.
Mental health problems in the military and seeking help has become an important topic of research. The study indicates that stigmatization is considered as the biggest obstacle when it comes to the militants seeking help ( Orr & Pope, 2015) . Traditionally, self reliance, duty and masculine qualities have been promoted by the military ethos whereby the qualities stated are installed in conscripts during their time in the service. When a soldier strictly adheres to the masculine values, it can hinder him from seeking help considering the ideological position that men are supposed to be tough, competitive and emotionally inexpressive. This can therefore affects a man’s physical and mental health.
References
Flakoll, P. J., Judy, T., Flinn, K., Carr, C., & Flinn, S. (2004). Postexercise protein supplementation improves health and muscle soreness during basic military training in Marine recruits. Journal of Applied Physiology , 96 (3), 951-956.
Orr, R. M., & Pope, R. (2015). Optimizing the physical training of military trainees. Strength & Conditioning Journal , 37 (4), 53-59.
Sculos, B. W. (2017). Who’s Afraid of ‘Toxic Masculinity’?. Class, Race and Corporate Power , 5 (3), 6.
