Originally Posted by
Zulu 36
Thanks. It's horrible that any child has to go through things like that. I saw the effects of such things on children when I was in Vietnam and as a police officer.
Age can often have much to do with feeling fear. Fear is mostly a learned reaction. For instance, babies are not naturally afraid of many things, such as bugs, snakes, etc. But when little, if they see people reacting in a fearful fashion to those things, they learn that those things are to be feared.
As we get older, and are exposed to more experiences, we can start to recognize things on own own that may be dangerous and should be feared (or at least well respected). We might also learn that some of our childhood fears are silly and lose them. However, being among familiar surroundings and people can often reduce that fear, because you feel more protected and comfortable.
Fear is not a bad thing, in moderation. Uncontrolled fear leads to panic and that can lead quickly to death. Some fear in a dangerous situation means you are alert to the danger, some bodily senses become more acute (usually hearing and eyesight).
In your case, I would have to guess as a young teen you were not completely aware of what was going on, but being among friends helped to keep you calm. Also, younger people just seem to have the attitude that "It won't happen to me."
As you said, now you wouldn't do such a thing again. You've learned from experience that a bunch of people shooting at you is dangerous.
But I have known people who are capable of controlling their fear to such a great extent as to seem fearless. They've done that through much realistic training, similar dangerous exposure (experience), and high self-confidence in their abilities under stress. Many could also mentally separate the dangerous and concentrate on the job they need to do. That mental toughness only comes from preparation.
I could go on for pages (controlling fear under extreme stress has been one of my major research interests for years). But this should do.
If you want to go a little deeper in this I suggest you read: The Gift of Fear, by Gavin DeBecker. You can get it on Amazon.com or a reasonably sized bookstore (its in paperback). It is also available on Kindle at Amazon.
Also, to improve your ASVAB scores, at the same bookstore or at Amazon, there are books with practice ASVAB tests that you can drill yourself on.