The Real Pandemic Threat: FEAR

One of the more memorable and scariest times in my life was when we use to train for chemical or biological attacks while in the military. I can still remember those drills “GAS!! GAS!! GAS!!” one our Sgt.’s would yell (typically at 2am in the morning while in the middle of a REALLY nice dream). We would then have to don our MOPP (Level 4) suits and mask in under a minute, which I can tell you is no easy task. Plus, as if this was not enough, we had to “simulate” giving ourselves a shot of Atropine in the event we got exposed to a nerve agent. The thought of plunging that huge friggin needle in my leg was terrifying! I look back on that now and wonder: WHY WAS I SO SCARED? I had never actually been in a gas attack myself, in fact, in all my time in the military, I never met a single soul who had ever been in a bio/chem attack. The only thing I had ever seen of anything related to chemical or biological weapons was a short training film we watched that showed the aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s 1988 “Halabja Massacre”, where over 5,000 Kurds were killed and over 10,000 wounded by a combination of mustard/nerve and blood agents gas attack. It remains the largest single chemical attack on a civilian population in history.

So what was it that scared the hell out of me so bad about a possible chemical or bio attack? Was it those images from that film of those small children with no skin left on their bodies? Or of the old man with blood coming out his eyes while he screamed in agony? Yeah, these things contributed to my fear in the back of my mind, but I present to you that Chemical and Biological threats (including diseases like ebola) carry with them their own breed of unique FEAR. It is the kind of fear that resides in knowing you are facing a threat that you cannot readily SEE or KILL , like a flesh and blood enemy.

But isn’t part of it that most all of us have a bigger FEAR of the things that are UNKNOWN to us than the things that are COMMON? I mean you mention Ebola and people shutter, but mention something as equally as deadly but more well-known like Influenza (The Flu) or the bacterium Yersinia Pestis (The Black Death) and most people could care less. Even though the Spanish Flu killed over 50 million and the Black Death an estimated 200 million. While Ebola since it’s discovery in 1976 pales in comparison with only 976 deaths.

Another element of the fear  involved with  Chemical and Bio threats is that they are  micro-scopic. They can hitch a ride in bodily fluids, live on surfaces for days and even float through the air in a gas for long distances. And whats worse because of movies like Outbreak most people know the TYPE of DEATH waiting for them if they are infected or exposed, as most of these agents kill very quickly and  for most of the really bad viruses (like ebola) there is NO CURE, which I think sums up in a nutshell why it scares so many people. Once infected, unless you are very lucky and start getting treated early on, death is assured.

So knowing all of this, isn’t it reasonable to be fearful? Isn’t it reasonable to have a healthy respect for something so lethal? My answer to that is a resolute YES! But unfortunately, that is NOT the type of FEAR circulating currently. The type of fear in which I am referring comes more out of a sense of what I like to call the “Sheeple Syndrome”. The root word of this disorder “SHEEP” refers to the wooly farm animal which typically has only two speeds in life: Grazing and Stampede. Sheeple are content to “graze” and will not change gears unless the herd does typically. Enter the fear mongerer’s and conspiracy nuts; now we start seeing the beginnings of a stampede take place; and the rest of the herd follows suit, as it is always easier to go with the flow than against it.

As CO’s we have a duty not to fall into the “Sheeple” trap. Remember: The man or woman most likely to survive a crisis is the one who keeps their head while everybody about is losing theirs! (I think that came from the French Revolution?) Should we as responsible CO’s prepare? Absolutely. Should we stay current with what is REALLY happening? Absolutely. Should we fill ourselves with dread and worry, thinking this is the end of time as we know it? Absolutely NOT. That is counter-productive to our ultimate goal: SURVIVAL. Fear is a healthy response meant to help us stay alive, it was never intended to be a controlling factor in our lives.

There is no doubt that after this ebola crisis, the world will never be the same in regards to chem or bio threats. Just like after 9/11, the world was worried about suicide bombers and plane hijackings, so the world will now be on guard against an infected person getting on a plane in Africa and flying into LAX or New York’s JFK airport. This is the world we live in now guys, we have to adapt ourselves to the threat as it arises. And make no mistake about it, as we have been watching all of these events unfold in Africa, so has America’s enemies. Perhaps the age of suicide vest will be replaced by the age of the infected martyr? More to come on that I am sure.

Stay Healthy, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!