This question is for combat vets.?

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When I was down range and was engaged in combat my body responded in a number of ways that I did not understand until recently. The most notable effect for me was auditory exclusion. I literally did not hear the sound of my own weapon firing on several occasions. I had tunnel vision on several occasions during actual up close encounters with the enemy, something that wasn't prevalent if the enemy was 50 meters or more away. Honestly, the first time I was engaged I had a very urgent need to urinate was well. Not ashamed to admit that now that I know that it's quite normal. There were times when time seemed to slow down and other times it sped up. Hard to explain. 

My question is for anyone who has been in a life or death fight, have you had some of the same physiological responses that I had? Or, if you don't mind sharing, what were some of the reactions that your body went through during the event/events?

Big Jake · Accepted Answer

Pretty much all the same, except for the urination thing.  (I've had a personal rule to never pass up a chance to pee; maybe that had something to do with it, though I understand the reflex can happen even with an empty bladder.  Dunno.)  Time sometimes speeds up and slows down simutaneously, your senses, not just sight, get weirdly sharpened in some tunnel vision/focused ways and shut down regarding other things.  You don't realize you're shouting because you don't hear your own voice at times.  Often during the slow-mo times I'm actually hyper calm and discussing things in a normal, calm voice.  You're getting slammed with an adreneline flood; in order to channel it productively so your body doesn't spasm out of control, that's what all the training is for beforehand so hopefully you can do what needs to be done without thinking about it, since your mental focus is on the dynamic hazards popping off all around.

geezuskreyest · Answer

I remember the first time I threw a grenade...the only thing I could hear was my heart pounding!  Everything was in slow motion and I never heard the explosion.  

Then I became a cop.  The same thing happens there.  Time slows, your reflexes seem to be in hyper drive, with 10 lb of stuff around your waist you can run down fleet footed people in tennis shoes.  

The same things happened to me; in the first few seconds of a foot chase or the first minutes of a car chase, I had serious tunnel vision along with total silence, yet I was aware of everything around me.  It was like the world had stopped moving and I was moving in fast forward.

I was never in combat when I was in the Army, but thank you to those who were and congrats to those who made it out.

Anonymous · Answer

Dude, when i was reading that, i thought of my Fire fight(s) Wow........ Same exact feeling man.. Oh, and you missed the rush of adrenaline you get

Anonymous · Answer

Fire fights are never pleasant, and what you describe is similar to my own...

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This question is for combat vets.?

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