STRESSORS OF MILITARY LIFE AS ILLUSTRATED IN PAINTINGSINTRODUCTION
The paintings of military life that follow illustrate stressors unique to military life. Some of the paintings
have been commissioned by artists and some were painted by ordinary soldiers. The majority of thepaintings illustrate the stressors of combat, which understandably, are among the greatest stressors
experienced during active duty. The paintings represent different historical times, different wars, settingsand geography. They focus on the stressors that military people experience across these categories andillustrate that that there is a universal nature to the stressors experienced.

Soldiers and their families have been described as "a part of but apart from" much of the nation. They
live separated in military communities or within our cities' neighborhoods. Their children attend thelocal schools of their cities and towns or schools within the military community. Their families have theconstant fear of the death of their loved ones at times of war.
The military community is set apart from the rest of the nation by stressors unique to being in themilitary. The military community is set apart from the rest of the nation by its missions and its
deployment in remote and foreign areas and the stressors associated with deployment and missions.
Moreover, the uniformed portion of this community operates under special regulations and laws andcourts which bring specific stressors. Additionally, each phase of a military career and many types ofmilitary duty and operational environments are fraught with stressors particular to those duties andenvironments.
The risk of psychiatric illness and disrupted performance as a consequence of experiencing thesestressors is a major source of manpower loss during both peace and war. Furthermore, failure to perform
may result in the loss of many lives causing enormous stress to families and our nation.

War is a terrible thing - for those who fight, those who are left behind and those who suffer the effects
in their families, communities and nations. No one goes through such experiences unchanged. For many
it will be a life event that forms a view of the future and structures their lives for years to come. For
some, the effects can be psychiatric illness and family conflict that require intervention. Care is neededto address the needs of those who deploy and those who return and their families. Those who may needspecific psychiatric care must be identified early - particularly those who are injured, prisoners of war or •those who deployed with family distress before they left.
Across all the services stressors experienced include those related to training, living in peace time,
deployment, operational environments, combat, and finally reunion . Stressors affect soldiers, theirfamilies and their communities. Basic training brings stressors and fears to young soldiers testing theirnew identities as well as fears about their futures. Peacetime stressors center on concerns about being
able to fight in the future. Deployment and combat stressors carry fears about feeling too disabled to go
on and fears of experiencing combat stress: nausea, tremulousness, rapid heart rate, diaphoresis, sleep

disruption, headache, backache, weakness, exhaustion, constricted affect, ambivalence about being incombat and loss of a sense of humor.
Moreover, there are stressors related to fear and guilt associated with evacuation syndrome: hystericalparalysis, overwhelming anxiety, dissociation, physical illness, and hyperventilation. Additionally, there
are symptom issues related to the evacuation of injured. Fears about injury, becoming a prisoner of war,dying and exposure to the dead and grotesque are foremost stressors at times of combat, as well asstressors related to the death of a friend or buddy. Furthermore, combat fears include those ofexperiencing disrupted adaptation and performance as well as fears related to living and working in agroup and as a service person.
There are also stressors related to separation from spouses and children as well as feelings of being
lonely and lost. Boredom in quiet times of combat brings its own stress in long waiting times - periodsof silence punctuated with fear. Families left behind experience stressors related to separation andisolation as well as increased responsibilities as caregiver, disciplinarian, teacher, nurse and household
manager. Children experience stress related to the loss of a father or mother and expectations of their
possible death.
Reunion carries with it special stressors related to coping with injury and possible psychiatric care beingneeded. Additionally, there are stressors related to coping with role changes that occurred in the family
during the soldier' s absence. For children, there is often the stress related to father or mother " not being
recognized" on return.
The symbolic and metaphoric elements of the paintings presented here help overcome the often overwhelming anxiety and feelings of helplessness that can be experienced at times of stress. What is mostamazing about stressors of military life is how well most people do even after experiencing terrible
traumatic events. Aided by families, neighbors and relatives, friends and sensitive commanders, theresiliency of military families and military members is remarkable. Medical care, health surveillance andcommunity support are critical to supplementing this resiliency.

2

WAR HAS BEEN A PART OF OUR LIFE FOR CENTURIESACROSS THE WARS STRESSORS HA VE BEEN
MULTIPLE

3

WAR HAS BEEN A PART OF OUR LIFE FOR CENTURIESACROSS THE WARS STRESSORS HA VE BEEN
MULTIPLE

4

BASIC TRAININGEntering the service brings both the excitement of entering a new life as well as stressors and fears
about being able to live and work in a group and as a service person. There are doubts,trepidation and uncertainty about being able to perform, to follow rules and conform, to meet theexpectations of being a soldier and of being able to face and handle danger.

New recruits de-boarding from a bus, full of hope and excitement

New recruits getting their hair cut.

5

BASIC TRAINING

New recruits being fitted for the uniforms they will wear.

Recruits on a work detail.

6

BASIC TRAINING

Recruits eating

Recruits relaxing and socializing

7

BASIC TRA NING

The chapel, an important place of solace where stressors of military life can be unburdened

Recruits boarding trucks to move out to the field. They are filled with questions about being able
to succeed.

8

DEPLOYMENT

Men and women of the military departing for active duty assignments. Their facial expressions
reveal emotions ranging from concern, to worries about the future, to confidence that they willsucceed.

9MOMENTS ALONE

Two fema)e soldiers lost in quiet moments ofintrospection before combat. Moments like thesecan allow feelings of doubt about being able toperform their duties to emerge, but such moments
can also provide a period of calmness needed tosummon their inner strength.

DEPLOYMENT-A soldier is ready to deploy. He is carrying all of his gear which weighs heavily upon him. The
expression on his face is grave. It belies a sense of trepidation and doubt .filled with questions
about whether or not he will be able to face the danger and meet the tests of what lies ahead incombat. Despite his doubts and fears he is resolute in his determination to move forward. His left
hand showing his wedding ring strongly grips his satchel.

11COMBAT

The troops have landed on the field, ready to do battle. A single soldier stands quietly, weapon
pointed downward. There is a sense of unrest, the calm before the storm. The soldier is painted
almost completely in silhouette as are the two soldiers in the distance and the helicopter fromwhich they have emerged .. The darkness of these forms contrasted against the muddy yellows andoranges of the field lend an atmosphere of portent fraught with feelings of unrest and disquietude
as the figures move out to fight.

12

COMBATTwo soldiers are alone and charging towards the enemy. They are running forward quickly overunknown and unfamiliar terrain. The importance of having buddies in battle is emphasized in thispainting as well as the doubts and fears about whether each will be up to the task at hand, of doing
battle while supporting one another. Moreover, fears of being injured or captured are often
paramount in the thoughts of soldiers as they rush to fight.

13

B U DDIES

The importance of relying on buddies for help is illustrated in this painting of two soldiers being
assisted by a third as they try to climb up an embankment. Relying on a buddy is comforting but
also stressful regarding whether or not a buddy can be depended upon.

14

COMBAT

Huddled in a foxhole somewhere in a cold winter three soldiers wait for the enemy to appear. Twosoldiers are trying to sleep while the third stands watch. His expression is one of tremulousness
and fear about facing unknown perils and hazards. Perhaps he contemplates fears of injury anddying as he waits. Or, perhaps he thinking of his spouse and children while fe_eling lonely and lost.

15

LONELINESSSilence is punctuated by fear. The scene is a bleak snow covered terrain devoid of trees or anyform of vegetation. There are what appear to be telephone poles, but with no wires, nocommunication. A sense of foreboding is seen in the two dark figures of the soldiers. They appear
more as symbols than as individual figures. We are unable to discern any details from their forms,
yet we know they are soldiers. They are walking solemnly towards their snow covered barracks
somewhere in an isolated area. While the figures are together they appear alone and apart fromone another. Each Jost in his own thoughts at this time of quiet in combat. A pervasive sense ofloneliness dominates the painting except for the brilliant blue of the sky which lends the painting asense of warmth.

16

LONELINESSThe colors convey a sense of desolation and loneliness. There are grays and browns contrasted
against the white of the snow. A single figure is slightly bent forward as he moves through thewintry scene lost in his thoughts during this moment of quiet. A wistful sense of longing iscommunicated by the figure in his solitude.

17

FIGHTING BOREDOM

Sailors aboard their ship coping with boredom in a confined space. Two play cards, another writes
a letter home, a third stand s watching.

18

FIGIITING BOREDOM

Striving to create moments ofnormalcy d uring com bat, two soldierspass the time playing chess while they
endure periods of waiting. Games
help to stave off the stress fromboredom often fe lt during lulls inperformingbattle.
Additionally,mundane tasks can do the same, as
the soldier here washing his clothes.

19

MISSIN(; L()VED ONES

Wondering about loved ones back home is a significant stressor faced by soldiers in combat. There
are worries about relationship issues with ones spouse and children as well as worries about
whether the spouse back home can perform all the necessary roles of being a. disciplinarian,teacher and nurse for the children. Additionally, there is the worry about the increased
responsibility for the spouse back home regarding being a household and financial manager.
Letters from home bring hope and sustenance but they also revive all of these stresses. As we lookat this soldier sitting alone reading his mail from home we can only wonder what worries he may
be contemplating.

20

OPERATIONAL ENVIRONl\1ENTS

Operational environments bring their own specific stressors. Individuals living in an austere steel
box that is kept in constant readiness on or under the sea are exposed to isolation and, at times,enforced physical closeness to their comrades. They also face the full force of extensive climaticconditions, extremes of noise, beat, and humidity; seasickness; and an increased likelihood ofphysical disease. Lulls in the work demands may present an equally difficult low-demand stressassociated with feelings of boredom.

21

PRISONER OF WAR

Fear of becoming a prisoner of war is a constant and significant stressor for soldiers in combat. It
is well known that prisoners of war show increased rates of psychiatric disturbance. The grim
faces and the dark colors in this painting convey powerful feelings of fear.

22

COMBAT

Exposure to the dead and grotesque are foremost stressors at a time of combat. The first painting
depicts a soldier helping his buddy who in fact may be mortally wounded. The second painting
shows civilians who have died as a result of combat.

23

COMBATThe battle has ended, but not the war. Three soldiers are resting, exhausted from fighting. One sits
in a folding chair leaning with his head down. He is a young man, perhaps thinking of his loved
ones at home and wondering how they are. Another soldier with face masked while resting
momentarily is imagining himself feeding his infant son back home. He is longing to be back withhis family in happier, sunnier times. The yellow background communicates a sense of longing for
better days. A third soldier wearily rests his head on his hand. The American flag is next to him
offering solace and comfort to any doubts and fears he feels about being a soldier in combat.

24

STANDING GUARD

A marine bravely stands guard allowing a relief organization to deliver food to refugees. Despite
this potentially dangerous assignment his determination and bravery are communicated by both
his stance and facial expression.

25

SECURITY PATROLSMarines are running security patrols after combat operations have ended. This task is fraught
with anxiety, tension and worries about being shot.

26

COMBAT

Fears of injury realized. Two young soldiers are seen with head and eye wounds. They appear tobe contemplating new fears of life after combat. There are worries about their futures and theirability to find meaningful work. There are worries about reuniting with their families andwhether or not their families will be able to accept the changes in them. The soldier wearing ahelmet with a cigarette dangling from his lips peers out at us from his bandaged face. The
expression in his eye is one of sadness and terror. His figure is painted against a black backgroundmaking him appear in a grim situation. The other soldier's eye can barely be seen because of theshadow on his face. Nonetheless, a sense of being fear-stricken is communicated in his expression.
He too is painted against a stark black background. The bright area of red at the bottom of thepainting lends a jarring feeling to the painting. The red band, the blue shirt and the white of thebandage suggest that the American flag is now in a bleak setting.

27

GOING HOMEWounded sailors returning home on their ship filled with worries about what the future willbring.

28

RElJ NION

This painting depicts a soldier coming home and reuniting with family members. The time ofreunion renews stress related to past relationship issues with family members and raises questions
about the effect the period of separation may have on these relationships.

29

30

THE STRO G VISUAL 11\tIPACT OF POSTER ART HAS
BEEN AN EFFECTIVE AND P()WERFlJL MEANS OF
COMMl ~ICATING MESSA(iES TO THE PUBLICuexpect youn .uneto enlist in the army ofwar savers to back up myarmy of fighters.
(fjW. S.S. Enlistment . .

,..means security
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU•SAY OR WRITE*31

THE Sr'J,RONG VISl"'AL Il\fPACT OF P()STER ART HAS
BEEN A~ EFFECTIVE AND POWERI➔-,l , L l\t1EANS OF
COM1\1l NICATING MESSAGES r-.ro THE Pl BLICMEN NOW ENLISTING AT
ARMY RECRUITING STATION

32

CONCLUSION
The paintings and posters presented here are strong graphic images portraying numerous
stressors of military life. These images, through their use of design, composition, color and contentillustrate stressors facing active duty soldiers in statements more powerful than words. Thepaintings and posters are especially poignant because they have been created by men and women
who have been there. This poignancy enables the viewer to have a better understanding of thestressors of military life.

33

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF TRAUMATIC STRESSUNIFORMED SERVICES UN I VERSITY OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES
BETHESDA , MARYLAND

208 I 4-4 799