A Soldier's Friendship

A Soldier's Friendship

Amidst muscle-aching training, ear-splitting booms of weapons, and grisly images of torture and death, lay the men who voluntarily commit themselves to this state of life--the state and life of war. Despite these terrible aspects of war, marine men continue to defend their country and fight its enemies side by side in a unique soldier friendship. In Anthony Swofford's Jarhead, the lives of these men are put under a microscope and the reader closely watches the men's interactions with each other within a new environment during Operation Desert Storm. In order to cope with this unfamiliar way of war life, the soldiers begin to bond and these loose acquaintances later blossom into strong friendships, especially those between Swofford, Troy, and Fergus. Among the atrocious aspects of war, friendships help soldiers survive life at the front because they act as an escape from the harsh realities of combat, allowing them to find inner peace amidst conflicts before, during, and even long after the fighting ends.

Before the war begins, the soldiers start establishing friendships as a means to escape their intense training and relieve stress through peaceful and playful time with friends. With games like football and "field-fucking," the soldiers start to bond and connect through their immature behavior. Their bonding is first seen when Swofford, describing their football game, says, "This is fun, plain mindless fun, the kind grunts are best at" (Swofford, 20). Playing football and pretending to beat each other up allow the soldiers to reveal their juvenile nature as an escape from the large and imminent responsibilities they must soon face such as protecting and defending a nation. Involving themselves in this "mindless fun" is simple compared to the concentration required to be a tactical soldier, and therefore, allows them to run away to a fantasy world. Furthermore, the mindlessness of their male bonding time lets their minds take a break from stress and permits them to be at a psychological peace, not having to worry about killing and death. Swofford defines grunts by their best skills, which is being mindless and childish, and this is the identity a soldier adapts to as a result of the prewar life with male bonding. The soldiers build these new marine identities through their relationship with one another. Also, they begin to rely on each other to provide the peaceful mindset and entertainment that occurs when they bond as an escape from the painful realities of training and the war to come.

An example of the important role friendships play to preserve a soldier's inner peace by watching out for each other is seen in the close bond formed by Swofford and Troy before the war. While questioning his existence, Swofford expresses, "And I might be only a half a second or many seconds...from pulling the trigger, because who knows how many tries one is allowed until one gets it right, but Troy slaps me hard across the back of my head" (Swofford, 71), which demonstrates the idea that military friends are responsible for his fellow soldier. Attempts to commit suicide are common among soldiers because the idea of death sometimes outweighs the pressures soldiers carry and the guilt they must live with for causing such destruction in the world. Swofford's confusion on whether he will continue his life is thrown into perspective when Troy gives him a shove, or more of a slap, in the right direction, convincing him to do his duty as a true soldier and not chicken out. In addition, Troy takes Swofford out on a run, away from the camp grounds, to escape the military atmosphere that causes such displeasing thoughts to enter a soldier's mind while also encouraging him to keep fighting the desire to quit on life. One reason for Swofford's attempt to kill himself deals with his belief that soldiers are not appreciated and go unrecognized in the world outside of war. These friendships then help soldiers feel that they have a greater purpose then just acting as tools in a political war campaign. This greater purpose is now providing each other with encouragement and motivation to survive a difficult time in their lives. Troy acts as a role model and being the hero figure will then give soldiers like Swofford the idea of hope, keeping his mind at peace. Friends in the military counterbalance the stress and emotional disturbances the war causes by distributing their guidance for survival, bringing troubled individuals to peace, and acting as an escape to a simple world uncomplicated by war.

Once the war officially initiates, the friendships are well established and continue to grow stronger because the love once provided by their friends and family at home is now replaced by these intimate friendships. As a result of constant images of death from combat and being trained to kill, soldiers are dehumanized, but the friendships help decrease the soldier's lack of compassion and sympathy because they fill them with love again. The idea that male bonding can humanize soldiers is seen when Swofford describes, "We are about to die in combat, so why not get one last hug, one last bit of physical contact, and through the hugs Welty has helped make us human again" (Swofford, 214). Stressed and despaired by their possible death, soldiers attempt to share love demonstrated by the hugs to remind them of their once normal, peaceful lives and to keep their minds off their unpredictable death. The soldier's knowledge that someone else cares for him and expresses love for him acts as a mental escape from disturbing scenes of war, keeping his will to survive strong. Hugging each other as true friends allows them to recall their humanity because it lets them express their human emotions. Loving their fellow soldiers balance out the immoral intent of killing others and brings them to terms of peace because of this equal balance. Therefore, they depend on one another not only for their physical survival since they need to work as a team to fight off enemies in the war, but they also rely on each