Warfare

Following the Korean War the U.S. army took note that the North Korean POW (prisioner of war) camps had an astounding death rate. In fact the 38% death rate in these P.O.W. camps was the single highest rate of mortality for ANY P.O.W. camp in the history of the United States Military. Upon examination of these camps the military noticed something even more astonishing: there was little physical torture.

Before you read on let's get this straight- the highest death rate in a P.O.W. camp (remember this is after WWII) in the entire history of the United States, and the captured soldiers were given sufficient food, water, and shelter while very little physical punishment/torture was applied. If that doesn't have you wondering you should check your pulse.

Here's an excerpt from "How Full Is Your Bucket" (Rath, Clifton):
"It was not uncommon for a soldier to wander into his hut and look despairingly about, deciding there was no use in trying to participate in his own survival. He would go into a corner alone, sit down, and pull a blanket over his head. And he would be dead within two days. The soldiers actually called it "give up-itis." The doctors labeled it "mirasmus," meaning, in Mayer's words(Military Psychologist who was studying the phenomenon), "a lack of resistance, a passivity."

We are getting a peek at an intruguing story here. Battle hardened men who had been through boot camp and on the front lines of war were now detained in a camp with no armed guard and no barb wire. In fact, no American soldier ever tried to escape their captivity.

What the North Koreans had discovered was that a man could be destroyed more efficiently and completely through the use of psychological warfare than through physical means alone. There were 4 tactics that were primarily used in this warfare:

• informing
• self-criticism
• breaking loyalty to leadership and country
• witholding all positive emotional support

Let me give you a brief breakdown of these four tactics...mostly because I find this stuff so spankin' interesting.

Informing:
The captors offered bribes (cigarettes, etc.) to soldiers in exchange for informing on their fellow prisioners. Once a soldier snitched, neither he, nor the person whom he had informed about were punished. Their intent wasn't to punish the prisioners, but rather, to break trust between one another. Can you imagine what this would be like? One day you're brought in front of the camp and the North Koreans inform the whole camp that you are bad because you have been breaking the rules and that one of your fellow prisioners is good because he reported your banned behavior. Immediately the thought would pop into your head "who can I trust?" As the rest of the camp looks on they would have to be thinking the same thing.

Self Criticism:
The North Koreans would gather the prisioners in groups of 10-12 and have each of the prisioners stand up in front of the group and report all of the bad things he had done, followed by all the good things he could have done, but failed to do. They reported to each other, not to the North Koreans.

Breaking Loyalty to Leadership and Country:
As you know, the military trains soldiers to stick together in battle; soldiers are trained to jump on a live grenade to protect the company, and the bonds forged in the heat of battle make for lifelong kinship. The North Koreans persistently and methodically undermined the prisioners allegiance to their superiors and to the U.S. The results? In one case 40 men stood by as 3 sick prisioners were thrown out of their dwelling, left to die in the elements. When asked why no one stepped in, they responded it "wasn't their job". They had lost any loyalty amonst themselves.

Witholding Emotional Support:
If a soldier received a positive letter from home the letter was witheld. If a negative letter was sent (news of a relative passing away, a wife planning to remarry, even notices of dilinquent bills and letters from collection agencies) these were promptly put in the hands of the soldier.

I've already alluded to the results of this psychological warfare: 38% of the men died. Devestating.

The Bible makes it clear that our lives are set in the context of spiritual battle. From the moment you breathed your first breath to the moment you breathe your last you are in an uphill climb - fighting, not as the world fights, but rather, a spiritual battle for existence. We have three enemies that are lurking around every corner, waiting, hoping that in this moment our armor will be weak and we will be devoured. Our ememies, the world, our flesh, and Satan don't take any days off and have never heard of a coffee break. I can identify time after time that either the world, my flesh or Satan have used the same incredibly powerful tactics that the North Koreans used to wage war on my soul.

The result? Victory...at times. The other times I simply walk into a corner alone, pull a blanket over my head, and give in to spiritual Mirasmus. "Mirasmus: a lack of resistance, passivity".

Had the North Koreans used tactics common to soldiers like spitting in their face, calling them names, or torturing them they would have aroused feeling, emotion, anger in the soldiers. This anger could then be channeled into a will to survive or point to rally around against a common enemy.

In my world the attacks rarely come from the front. If they came from the front I could anticipate, perhaps even get angry and channel that energy into the battle. Instead I am attacked from my flank, by suprise, and, by far the most hurtful, from behind. These attacks leave me bewildered, hurt, and often alone.

On the good days I push through. I may have been attacked from the flank, but I quickly reorient myself to take on the enemy face-first. I find soldiers to rally around me and sound out the battle cry "No man will be left behind". Together we jump on grenades for oneanother and navigate the minefield of life.

On the bad days...well, to be honest, it looks a whole lot like Mirasmus. "Mirasmus; a lack of resistance, passivity". At the end of these bad days I find myself looking back wondering "how did I get here?" Why am I snapping at my wife? Why do I have an utter disregard for others? Why can't I seem to find an ounce of desire to walk with God? How did I get here?

to be continued...