What troops really need? To blow off some steam
There has been no shortage of debate within military circles about revamping the rules of engagement and redefining what should be allowed by U.S. forces in the field. But the military has been mum about a YouTube video made by U.S. troops in Afghanistan lip-syncing the lyrics of Lady Gaga's Telephone that quickly went viral. "This is what people do with (their) free time in Afghanistan," one of the troops wrote on his Facebook page.
The Lady Gaga video spawned copycats across the world. When Israeli soldiers posted a video of them dancing to Ke$ha's TiK ToK, it landed them in hot water after Palestinians complained they were on occupied land. A few Palestinians responded not by throwing rocks but by posting their own dance video, also set to Lady Gaga, which involved simulated pat-downs and intrusive searching.
AMERICAN TROOPS: Dance to "Telephone"
ISRAELI TROOPS: Dance to "TiK ToK"
PALESTINIANS: Dance to Lady Gaga
What we sometimes forget as casual observers of the war is just how much down time there is between actual fighting. Even in the blood-soaked peaks of Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, as documented in the movie Restrepo, U.S. soldiers face a significant amount of idle time, which they pass by killing the occasional cow, playing chess, or gyrating to Samantha Fox's Touch Me.
With the war entering its 10th year, combat stress and fatigue have naturally compounded. June was the worst month on record for Army suicides, with one per day. Morale, too, has taken a hit as troops are increasingly told to hold their fire to protect civilians. But what is needed is not looser rules of engagement but rather better ways for soldiers to blow off steam. The dance videos are not actively encouraged by the Pentagon brass, but perhaps they should be. Maybe even deploy karaoke machines and dance-instructional videos? Soldiers need to find "creative ways" to fill downtime, said Rob Diamond, a Navy vet who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. "Blowing off steam is critically important."
Not just boredom but also the daily trauma of wartime, which, as President Obama pointed out recently, "you don't have to engage in a firefight to endure." The Department of Veterans Affairs recently decided to relax the requirements for war vets with post-traumatic stress disorder to get compensation and medical care — a rule change long overdue. (To ease back into civilian life, vets are even playing paintball.) The Defense Department also ruled against its own commissioned health study that urged a ban on cigarettes in combat zones. Both are sound moves.
Stress relievers are critical to keeping morale up and casualties down. It's not a stretch to assume that scandals involving civilian casualties become more likely because soldiers are wound up too tightly. (That comes across in the Rolling Stone article on now-retired general Stanley McChrystal, which documents troops' skepticism of the hold-your-fire commands.) U.S. troops want the rules of engagement loosened, something Gen. David Petraeus hinted he might change.
But more important is finding healthy and constructive ways to soothe troops' nerves. There's no booze and few creature comforts. Girly mags are discouraged (well, at least none is sold on bases). Even Lucky Strikes are considered too risky by some military higher-ups. This is not a plea to build more Burger Kings in our bases. Nor is it to reduce war to an episode of Glee. But it is far better to let troops blow off steam by, say, posting a silly dance video on YouTube than by slaughtering a cow or endangering civilians. The Israeli troops were scolded for their routine; the American ones should be commended. ("I'm going to be Famous!!!" one of the soldiers posted on Facebook.)
This kind of video shows the human side of our soldiers. Heck, it even might win a few hearts and minds along the way.
Lionel Beehner is a 2010 fellow with the Truman National Security Project and a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.
