Description
The Nigerian military is currently engaged in ongoing internal security operations against the terrorist group Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). This conflict has had a significant impact on the Nigerian military, resulting in a community of bereaved families and injured soldiers. The effects of the conflict on surviving and returning soldiers are evident in the patterns and symptoms of post-combat and traumatic stress disorders stemming from their participation in the conflict. This paper seeks to explore the social perception of combat stress and trauma amongst personnel who have participated in military operations in northeast Nigeria. The paper will draw on their combat experiences to establish their perception of wartime/combat stress, their management of their peculiar situations, and their understanding of the military’s institutional acknowledgment of combat stress and its role in providing adequate psychosocial care to members of its rank and file affected by war.
Keywords: Nigerian military, combat, Boko Haram, soldiers.
