Theater of War: Soldiers as America's Mascot

storybyteskendall
Dec 18, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Written By: Maria Victoria Almarza

No amount of training can prevent the agony that comes with seeing your friends be eaten alive by a Cyclops. However, as a general, Odysseus could not let his emotions get in the way. He approached this nightmarish situation by creating a plan that ensured the success and safety of his remaining men. His training made him an incredible military leader, but his ability to override his emotions was what saved him and his men from an even more fatal outcome. Nevertheless, the conditioning that saved him in Cyclops' Island damaged his ability to re-enter Ithaca's society forever. In the United States, members of the military are trained to suppress their natural emotional reactions, which can result in trauma, mental health issues, intimate bonds between members and a struggle to rejoin society.

Sergeant Albert Schubert of the United States Marine Corps explained that those in the military are "encouraged to maintain a level of bearing that borders on disassociation" because the dangerous and traumatizing situations they face require them to disconnect from their emotions. However, this preparation is a double-edged sword. It allows soldiers to accomplish what they set out to do in the military, but it "consistently leaves one in a struggle in how to deal with trauma" (Schubert). When you spend months suppressing intense emotions while living through traumatic experiences, you distance yourself so much from reality that it becomes difficult to cope with it. A study conducted by Dr. Finnegan (2022) supported Sergeant Schubert's experience by showing that emotional detachment results in difficulty processing trauma, which can result in issues such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, social isolation and difficulty expressing or coping with emotions. Another study conducted by Joseph Boscarino and Charles Figley (2009) shows how emotional repression causes various physical health issues, which add on to mental health difficulties. Despite this deep struggle, the intense stigma surrounding mental health issues in the military makes it difficult for soldiers and veterans to acknowledge their hardships and seek help. There have been efforts being made within the military to rectify this issue which have caused palpable improvement over the last few years, but the problem persists. Many in the military community still cope abusing alcohol and drugs, engaging in self-destructive behavior and by abusing their loved ones.

One common maladaptive coping mechanism is codependency (Buchanan et al.); much like Ajax reserved vulnerability for Achilles, many soldiers today confide only in one trusted individual, often a spouse or close friend. For my classmate, Petty Officer 3rd Class Dennis Obando, it was his wife. However, his constant absence, emotional limitations and overwhelming dependence on her destroyed his marriage. Oftentimes, military spouses "serve as both nurse and therapist" (Obando). Despite soldiers often feeling uneasy expressing intense emotions to other members of the military, the bonds they have because ofshared training and traumatic experiences is extremely intimate and unique. Sergeant Schubert describes it as a connection akin to brotherhood. It's something forged in a situation so specific and traumatizing that time nor distance can break it. Furthermore, their inability to return to society and experience it like before makes soldiers value these connections even more.

PO3 Obando was very passionate about the treatment of soldiers and veterans in our society. He’s uncomfortable being thanked for his service, as it feels isolating and objectifying. He believes people are not educated on what soldiers go through, or truly care about their struggles, and this expression of gratitude is performative. Since returning from service Obando has been to jail multiple times, but our society wants the digestible part of the military and veteran experience. We don’t want to acknowledge the depth of mental health issues they often suffer from, their lack of resources or the traumatizing experiences they've been through. Soldiers are supposed to be America's mascot. Nevertheless, there are multiple initiatives aiming to bring light to this issue. Bryan Doerries's work with Theater of War Productions does so by arranging performances of greek dramas for members of the military community that showcase the experiences soldiers and veterans go through today in a medium that is easier to digest but still true to their complex issues. Consequently, it creates a space for military members to identify their struggles, seek help, and speak up.

In closing, the emotional suppression trained into soldiers is necessary for success in the military but often comes at the cost of their mental health, coping skills, interpersonal relationships and ability to reintegrate into society. However, this experience also fosters tight-knit connections among members. Programs like Theater of War portray the military experience and give members a platform to talk about it. Coming back home, there is a sense of alienation from our society that leads veterans to feel isolated from society even when they can rely on the brothers they made. Greek Drama showcases these complex experiences and opens up important conversations among service members, veterans, their families and society as a whole.