Heather, I thought about this a lot. I understand you risk upsetting close family members and may even risk making this young man angry and confused. You might unravel his dream with nothing to replace it. If you have the stomach for this, I still believe that in the long term, he might thank you for warning him. Only you can make this decision, but my experiences tells me that regret lives very long. It is a whole of life upheaval.
I appreciate your sensitive and helpful reply.I ‘ll discuss what you say with my husband and also Jack’s mother before coming to a decision. I’ll let you know what happens. Thank you so much and warm good wishes,
This is fantastic Ben.!Thank you so much. We have dIscoverd that a young lad we know well has decided to join the army…I think he’s partly doing it because his dad, who recently died was a soldier and told everyone it saved him from going off the rails, and gave him a lot of skills and ‘training for life’. (Of course he wasn’t sent off to the Somme….)
Now his lovely lad wants to do the same. He’s signed up and now waiting to be called up….Should we show Jack the video or not.?
Ben, thanks so much. This is a video every young person should watch before making the dreadful mistake of joining the military. It is also a video everyone should watch as they join VFP UK. Much of what we were ordered to do was morally reprehensible, once we understand what it is and try putting our self in the shoes of those being harmed.
This is great motivation. It reminded me why I wake up every morning and say today is another day of speaking out against wars and the people who promote them. It gets more difficult with automated war and very slick indoctrination that starts very early in children’s lives. Our job gets harder, so we work smarter.
Absolutely brilliant, Ben. I hope this goes viral. I’ve shared it on our VFP chapter website, FB, etc. and hope to get many of our local activists to view it. Well done, Brother, and thank you.
One question: Did your basic training also stress the “other-ness” of those (mainly brown folks) we are aiming to kill, as the U.S. Boot camp does?
Thank you for this excellent and thought provoking video.
How the Military use Psychological means to increase compliance is extremely interesting and all the more powerful told by someone who has been involved.
Very informative & well presented. Very disturbing too. It’s what so many of us (non military just civilians) know is really going on but to stay sane filter it out… The ‘compartmentalizing’ has always underpinned genocides…The book ‘Cruel Brittiania- A secret history of torture’ published 2012 by Ian Cobain fills in the rest esp. re the torture …
I live in the USA (for now) and I can appreciate Bens perspective ontrigger happy` US troops. Police over here seem very poorly trained and there are many deaths, murders really, of police shooting to death unarmed people, many of whom are black. Hispanic. poor, homeless and/or mentally ill. I think it also reflects American culture.
In the RAF, a lot of people I worked with were either indifferent to or highly against the regime that stole power in the 200o US presidential elections and with our PM embracing these people. After 9/11 and all that stemmed from it (and continues to this day) I left the RAF after almost 20 years on redundancy. I have never been really professionally or personally settled since, and whilst I do miss aspects of my military career, I was I am pleased that I am no part of what is going on today. I also identify with Bens points on the disconnect that can be felt by those not engaged in the fighting directly. I sent many Tornado bombers out to the Mid East over many years and, whilst I knew that they would ne bombing people (during out so calledno fly zone and heavy period of crippling sanctions as punishment for the Gulf War 1) I did not feel as though my part was significant, but it clearly was.
We all know that diminishing energy reserves and the protection of the USD as the global reserve currency are the number one factors for recent warfare, but its something we all ignore. As for Ben, now hes really serving others!
Niece video, very well explained, I have the same feelings altough never in combat, the feeling youre used , misused and not respected, so i left after allmost 10 years service in Belgian Para Commando'(2 1/2 Y) and ( 7 Y) of Special Forces as a 1 sgt . , SAS similar, that whas + 40 years ago ! I had a good restart in civilian coz i had 2 cabinetmaker diploma’s and drawing experience !
this was a very interesting video clip. I especially liked the analogy used reJewish prisoners and the genocide carried out by a highly cultured race of people. I read a book many years ago that was a psychological exploration as to why there were hardly ever any attempts by the prisoners (that generally far outnumbered the guards) and why people literally willingly went to their deaths without any resistance. As Ben so eloquently points out, when people are conditioned, in the right environment, the right conditions and the right repetition of all components come together, human beings are capable of anything, and I do mean anything. You may think this is not trueI would never kill someone` etc, but it so that any of us could be capable of anything in given that all the required elements come together to ensure it does. In the case above, the prisoners were conditioned to believe they indeed sub human, powerless, entities that deserved such treatment. The guards were always immaculately turned out, with shined boots and organised efficiency and highly organised and efficient polarizing the self concept of the prisoners thus making it possible for such small ratios of guards to literally ensure that people marched to their own deaths! It was a fascinating book and this video illustrates such conditioning very well.
Great job, Ben…..now get a hair cut or it scorridor` for you!
Already seen. Very well done by Ben. I think every soldier can relate in some form or another to Bens experiences. Honest Words, awareness, exposures and experiences are all valuble weapons of peace. Great work!
Veterans For Peace UK 
Heather, I thought about this a lot. I understand you risk upsetting close family members and may even risk making this young man angry and confused. You might unravel his dream with nothing to replace it. If you have the stomach for this, I still believe that in the long term, he might thank you for warning him. Only you can make this decision, but my experiences tells me that regret lives very long. It is a whole of life upheaval.
I wish you all the best with it.
I appreciate your sensitive and helpful reply.I ‘ll discuss what you say with my husband and also Jack’s mother before coming to a decision. I’ll let you know what happens. Thank you so much and warm good wishes,
This is fantastic Ben.!Thank you so much. We have dIscoverd that a young lad we know well has decided to join the army…I think he’s partly doing it because his dad, who recently died was a soldier and told everyone it saved him from going off the rails, and gave him a lot of skills and ‘training for life’. (Of course he wasn’t sent off to the Somme….)
Now his lovely lad wants to do the same. He’s signed up and now waiting to be called up….Should we show Jack the video or not.?
Ben, thanks so much. This is a video every young person should watch before making the dreadful mistake of joining the military. It is also a video everyone should watch as they join VFP UK. Much of what we were ordered to do was morally reprehensible, once we understand what it is and try putting our self in the shoes of those being harmed.
This is great motivation. It reminded me why I wake up every morning and say today is another day of speaking out against wars and the people who promote them. It gets more difficult with automated war and very slick indoctrination that starts very early in children’s lives. Our job gets harder, so we work smarter.
Absolutely brilliant, Ben. I hope this goes viral. I’ve shared it on our VFP chapter website, FB, etc. and hope to get many of our local activists to view it. Well done, Brother, and thank you.
One question: Did your basic training also stress the “other-ness” of those (mainly brown folks) we are aiming to kill, as the U.S. Boot camp does?
Thank you for this excellent and thought provoking video.
How the Military use Psychological means to increase compliance is extremely interesting and all the more powerful told by someone who has been involved.
Very informative & well presented. Very disturbing too. It’s what so many of us (non military just civilians) know is really going on but to stay sane filter it out… The ‘compartmentalizing’ has always underpinned genocides…The book ‘Cruel Brittiania- A secret history of torture’ published 2012 by Ian Cobain fills in the rest esp. re the torture …
I live in the USA (for now) and I can appreciate Ben
s perspective ontrigger happy` US troops. Police over here seem very poorly trained and there are many deaths, murders really, of police shooting to death unarmed people, many of whom are black. Hispanic. poor, homeless and/or mentally ill. I think it also reflects American culture.In the RAF, a lot of people I worked with were either indifferent to or highly against the
regimethat stole power in the 200o US presidential elections and with our PM embracing these people. After9/11and all that stemmed from it (and continues to this day) I left the RAF after almost 20 years on redundancy. I have never been really professionally or personally settled since, and whilst I do miss aspects of my military career, I was I am pleased that I am no part of what is going on today. I also identify with Bens points on the disconnect that can be felt by those not engaged in the fighting directly. I sent many Tornado bombers out to the Mid East over many years and, whilst I knew that they would ne bombing people (during out so calledno fly zone and heavy period of crippling sanctions as punishment for theGulf War 1) I did not feel as though my part was significant, but it clearly was.We all know that diminishing energy reserves and the protection of the USD as the global reserve currency are the number one factors for recent warfare, but it
s something we all ignore. As for Ben, now hes really serving others!Niece video, very well explained, I have the same feelings altough never in combat, the feeling youre used , misused and not respected, so i left after allmost 10 years service in Belgian Para Commando'(2 1/2 Y) and ( 7 Y) of Special Forces as a 1 sgt . , SAS similar, that whas + 40 years ago ! I had a good restart in civilian coz i had 2 cabinetmaker diploma’s and drawing experience !
this was a very interesting video clip. I especially liked the analogy used re
Jewish prisoners and the genocide carried out by a highly cultured race of people. I read a book many years ago that was a psychological exploration as to why there were hardly ever any attempts by the prisoners (that generally far outnumbered the guards) and why people literally willingly went to their deaths without any resistance. As Ben so eloquently points out, when people are conditioned, in the right environment, the right conditions and the right repetition of all components come together, human beings are capable of anything, and I do mean anything. You may think this is not trueI would never kill someone` etc, but it so that any of us could be capable of anything in given that all the required elements come together to ensure it does. In the case above, the prisoners were conditioned to believe they indeed sub human, powerless, entities that deserved such treatment. The guards were always immaculately turned out, with shined boots and organised efficiency and highly organised and efficient polarizing the self concept of the prisoners thus making it possible for such small ratios of guards to literally ensure that people marched to their own deaths! It was a fascinating book and this video illustrates such conditioning very well.Great job, Ben…..now get a hair cut or it
scorridor` for you!Garry Harriman
Ga, USA
Already seen. Very well done by Ben. I think every soldier can relate in some form or another to Bens experiences. Honest Words, awareness, exposures and experiences are all valuble weapons of peace. Great work!
Mark Jenkins