It is unfortunate that so many who enlist in the military are from broken homes and broken communities. Recruiters sit like vultures preying upon the poor, oppressed and marginalized. They sell these young people on security, hope, dreams and the promise of a family, but war creates a false family. War and the military create a dangerous surrogate foster-home of community and purpose among its comrades, one that replaces the impaired version of community we presently have in our disconnected society. This sense of community is very alluring to its members who often deeply yearn for that absent loving support of family, community and friendship. The artificial family and "brotherhood" created by war is dysfunctional and hard to escape for the disproportionate number of its enlistees who joined having no foundation, family or support. Young and disenfranchised people who desperately need to "fit in" are told that obedience brings honor and acceptance, which ultimately leads to a "place at the table." However, the hidden stipulation is that this obedience must never be questioned. "Father knows best" is the silent message delivered to these loved-starved soldiers. The price of admission into this special community is the destruction of the heart and the suffocation of critical thinking and reason. Too often, when injured or emotionally debilitated in combat, these soldiers feel used-up, abandoned and unsupported by their nation and former comrades as they come home to a world that does not understand their suffering. In many cases it takes a lifetime for them to put their shattered hearts, minds and bodies back together again. Military personnel represent a special class of super-victims.
