Quote:
Originally Posted by finch1750
I am too young to know any of this but I would imagine serving (or even living) during that time was more frightening then during war time (i.e. Vietnam, WWI/II, etc). Getting deployed to the front lines would be one thing but nukes dont leave anyone a chance. MAD is some crazy shit.
Actually I would love some insight. i have done a few papers on the Cuban Missle Crisis and it really did seem like we were that close to the world getting blown to hell. What was it actually like?
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Tcoat said it best but I'll pile on. In my case, people died just doing their jobs. A carrier flight deck is a treacherous place. Add to that the pucker factor of flying in a forty year old plane known for its tricky behavior, high op tempo, Chinese fighter pilots with itchy trigger fingers, etc. and it becomes a truly mentally and physically exhausting experience. I've seen more than my share of violent death. One was a direct report of mine, a trainee, and we weren't even at "war" with anyone.
It took me years to "recover" from all that. Everyone deals with trauma in their own way. Everyone has different tolerance for it.