Or, in the alternative, does it mask the symptoms of PTSD? Keeping in mind that, contrary to the assertions of one historian-turned-blogger-posting-outside-his-areas-of-expertise, PTSD need not manifest as a total breakdown. Maybe “warrior culture” (to the extent there is such a thing, and keeping in mind that history is often related selectively, both by primary sources themselves and further still in secondary sources, with an eye towards furthering a particular narrative that may or may not closely relate to reality) isn’t some ward against PTSD whereby “real warriors” from “suitably warlike cultures” (as if a warlike culture is to be admired) don’t suffer from PTSD, but rather it is a coping mechanism emerging within societies substantially effected by war, and then carried on perhaps even after the survivors of the trauma pass (or maybe the frequency of warfare is such that one generation of survivors is replaced readily by another in the next war).
That sounds more like depression than PTSD. Not all mental illness affecting soldiers, or even combat veterans, is PTSD. I think a failure to recognize that might actually be more harmful to overall mental health in the military than the more commonly cited lack of support for PTSD. It’s a well-known phenomenon that most people who commit suicide in the military have never been in combat. It may even be the case that most have never been deployed at all (I honestly can’t recall—I am pretty sure that is true, but I also can’t remember if people who have never deployed are over and under-represented among suicide victims in the military).