Military Review English Edition November-December 2015 | Page 126

To understand why immortality narratives are
central to the profession of arms, it is essential to
understand what Cave calls humanity’s “mortality
paradox,” a psychological contradiction hardwired
into every human:
Our awareness of ourselves, of the future, and
of alternative possibilities enables us to adapt
and make sophisticated plans. But it also gives
us a perspective on ourselves that is at the
same time terrifying and baffling. On the one
hand, our powerful intellects come inexorably to the conclusion that we, like all other
living things around us, must one day die. Yet
on the other, the one thing that these minds
cannot imagine is that very state of nonexistence; it is literally inconceivable. Death
therefore presents itself as both inevitable
and impossible.2
Immortality narratives try to reconcile this dilemma.
Various philosophies have explored the mortality paradox
for thousands of years. Sigmund Freud explored the cognitive inability to imagine one’s own death and the resulting
subconscious conviction of one’s immortality.3 The inborn
will to live sharpens as an individual becomes more aware of
his or her own mortality. For the soldier, this meeting with

imminent death in battle can become a paralyzing confrontation. Australian war hero Peter Ryan describes the experience as leaving him “a shuddering mess of demoralised [sic]
terror.”4 As danger and the threat of death approach, the
first issue emerging for the soldier is how to stay alive.

Survive

The drive for survival is the first and most basic
narrative, and it has a single, simple tenet: do not die.
Unfortunately, avoiding death is also the most problematic. In his study, Cave illustrates the history of
man’s obsessive search for a cure for dying through
magic, alchemy, and even modern science.5 However,
soldiers in battle have a comparatively simple dilemma—living forever first requires living until tomorrow.
Army leaders often approach this narrative using two
themes: that obedience leads to survival and that the
medical system can save wounded or injured soldiers.
When employed to satisfy the mortality paradox,
these—like the fabled elixir of life—are false promises.
The first theme proposes that soldiers who are
skilled enough in battle, and who listen to and obey
their leaders, will come home alive. Hollywood
portrays this idea in the film Starship Troopers, when
a young lieutenant shouts to a group of soldiers:
“Remember your training, and
you will make it out alive!”6 The
lieutenant dies almost immediately after giving the advice. While
darkly comical, the story highlights
the fallacy.
The military invests significant
effort in developing both realistic
training and smart leaders. These
may improve soldiers’ odds of survival. Neither, however, can banish
death’s power in combat because
neither can banish the role chance
plays in survival. For example, a
veteran of combat in Vietnam described being surrounded by metal
flying through the air in the chaos
of battle. He said the only reason
(Photo by Christopher Menzie, Veterans Affairs)
anyone survived was dumb luck,
Spc. Lyle Yantz and several other service members participating in Operation Proper Exit
are greeted 6 December 2012 after arriving at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Operation
the grace of God, or both.7 On the
Proper Exit brought severely wounded service members back to the theater where they
other
hand, a remark by a noncomwere injured to provide them with a first-hand progress update on the continuing mission
and to help in their healing process.
missioned officer in 2008 illustrates

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November-December 2015  MILITARY REVIEW