Adrenalin Junkies: Old misunderstood term now being applied to returning military

For a while, the fatality rate for returning veterans was higher than the in country fatality rate because of the desire to maintain the adrenalin high.

An article in the Statesman.com brings to light a problem for all branches of the US military and us. The article Soldiers back from war seek out new risks talks about returning solders and service personnel who are drag racing, sky diving and enjoying many high-risk activities.

Why is this a problem for all of us? Until a few years ago, the fatality rate for returning service personnel in some branches was 8%, higher than the in-country fatality rate. High-speed motorcycle crashes led the way in killing our highly trained military personnel who had given up a year or more of their life to serve in a foreign country.

The military, especially the Marine Corps was not prepared for the problem. Now all branches of the military have put into place Moral, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs or their branch equivalent to provide better activities to deal with this adrenalin need.

From on outdoor recreation perspective it has created a lot of opportunities as well as problems for the recreation community. The opportunities are to create and increase programs that provide these benefits; adrenaline and a degree of risk management. Problems because these young men and women dealing enjoying the programs were bringing their non-military families along.


 

 
Keywords: mwr, moral, welfare and recreation, military recreation, adrenaline junkie, adrenaline rush,