Virtual Iraq

Men are falling all around, your friends are dropping like flies, your own finger pulls the trigger of your gun murdering your enemy all in front of your eyes. No amount of preperation or training prepares you for the violent effects of what a war may do to the human psyche. “Bullets were exploding like firecrackers all around us.” Soldier "Travis Boyd" recalls the danger surrounding him in battle. P.T.S.D. (post traumatic stress disorder) is a serious mental disorder that affects war veterans upon their return home. As Americans we recognize the hard transition from soldier to civilian. The soldiers having trouble adjusting are assigned to jobs to help calm them down and help them regain their mental state. "It was a quiet, undemanding job, intended to allow him to decompress from combat." Boyd was assigned to a fluff job of folding towels and doing laundry to help him. The affects of war continuously messed with Boyd's head. Therapy alone did not help return his sanity, so another approach was suggested. Boyd agreed to play a "virtual Iraq" video game to help him work through his issues. Video games are apart of our culture and they come naturally to those who play them as children. Maybe acting out the combat in Iraq will give soldiers an outlet where they can be understood. Who knows?