Trace, the reason this topic is relavent to me is that I have been in situations where I had one foot in the military side, and one foot in the civilian side. It wasn't real well defined or overtly defined, and I had an opportunity to see both sides up close and personal. Historicly, not all military were volunteers by any means. Check Vietnam. Also, not all combantants wear uniforms. Also, the civilians that are caught in dangerous active combat zones are not, repeat not, there by choice, but often they can't leave because of martial law, or they are simply trapped. No way out. Effectively, there is little difference, neither the soldiers, nor the civilians, want to be there in a dangerous active combat zone, but there they both are, non the less. If anything, the situation is worse for the civilians, because they don't have the effective means to defend themselves, hence intense helplessness. The CPTSD is relavent here, because many of the civilians are children, who are trapped, long term, and/or repeatedly, in dangerous active combat zones with no, absolutely no, means of escape, like I was. Beyond that, many of the civilians, and children, are prisoners of war, like I was, which clearly and cleanly places them into classicly defined CPTSD, as well as classicly defined, general PTSD. Shalom.