Great War Effect on Soldiers at Home

          Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age is a book written by Modris Eksteins. The book describes what life was like for soldiers during World War I. From the endless bombardments of shells ranging in size from hundreds of pounds to over a ton to infestestation of lice and rats. Soldier's Home is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It tells of a man named Krebs experience after he returned home to Oklahoma in 1919 after the end of World War 1. Krebs greeting was not what he had in mind. He was forced to lie in order for anyone in the twon to listen to him when he decided he needed to talk about what had happened to him in the war. 
          At the end of the war the men returning were treated as heroes. Once people leanced of the atrocity of the war no one wanted to hear about what happened over seas. This made things even more diificult for Harold Krebs. There was nothing there for him. He had no one to talk to that could understand how he felt since they had not seen the things he had. People probalbly did not want to hear how bodies were mutilated so bad they were accidentally being shoveled into sandbags. When he left he was just a kid, like thousands of others who were killed, that was not even allowed to drive his fathers car. 
       When lying is the only way to be heard you would have a hard time continuing to relate to people. How can you talk about the stench of all the decaying bodies, the constant bombardments, men drowning the mud was so deep, or your buddy being blown to bits to those who were not there. What happened there was beyond belief and everyone was tired of hearing about it. There were letters sent home all the time. The men were only able to write them during the time they were out of the trench resting. It was called the rest cycle but there was not much rest to be had. Even with the letters the transition going home was a difficult challenge for many men. When you live everyday watching men being torn to pieces around you how do you go back to civilian life the way it was before. 
         Men had become immune to the horrors of trench warfare. When your friends are dying next to you everyday you have to. Once you spend everyday shutting out emotions to cope with and just survive from day to day it is difficult to stop when you go back to normal life. Krebs had stopped caring about everything. In his head he was already dead. Going through normal every day tasks is just a show for him now. A tool to please those who still care about him. His family know he has changed and still love him but there is nothing they can do to make him feel at home again.

Raid on ISIS in Iraq

     As American militants try to mount a wider counteroffensive against ISIS or ISIL, military officials declined to comment on details of the classified operation. They have conducted a significant joint strike against the Islamic State. The military did the same thing in Somalia while supposedly providing humanitarian aid.  

     As Mark Bowden depicted in Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War the Delta Force were called in to help apprehend Mohamed Aidid. They conducted several raids to arrest high profile leaders, while the general public believed they were in the country to supply food and water to the nationals. 

     The raids on ISIS militants, using American helicopters, were conducted by a combination of American and Kurdish Special Operations forces. The Kurdish are said to have led the raids while the Americans assisted. 

      Similar to the situation in Black Hawk Down where the UN official were officially in charge of the missions taking place. In Iraq we managed to cut off roads to successfully raid these locations unlike in Black Hawk Down where the Somalis were able to construct road blocks and ambushes so quickly are reaction times were cut down so drastically the original plan was forced to change and exfil was significantly delayed. Both missions were successes in the sense that we were able to take the high profile targets we were after into custody despite the plan not going the way military leaders had originally planned for them to go.

     Technology has advanced greatly since the 1990’s. Today there are unmanned drones, satellite imagery, and infrared sensors that allow soldiers to detect enemy presence. We are able to plot battles using GPS and track via computer. This helps provide better intelligence than in Black Hawk Down, where the intelligence came from a single human being blending in with the enemy. 

     During the Civil War, Albert James Myer, an assistant surgeon developed a system of flag signals used by both the Union and Confederate armies to send messages and direct troop movements. These methods, while having been evolved, are still being used today. The elite forces described in Black Hawk Down were using various hand signal to move throughout Somalia. 

     The methods used today are not near as complicated or time consuming as the complex flag system. Using hand signals in todays terms, there are no encryption methods used. The signals may vary slightly between the different units but are for the most part universal.

     Despite changes in time the fundamentals of warfare have not changed. Yes we use different equipment and tactics but we still have to be able to communicate and know what we are supposed to do in our specific roles. We still have the important need to be able to communicate to each other quickly, clearly, and reliably. 

      Fortunately only one American life was lost in the recent turn of events, compared to Black Hawk Down, where there was a reported 16 deaths after the 18 hour battle.