What is the private life of war?

To me, the phrase 'the private life of war' suggests the aspects of war which are hidden from the public view. These can be the after-effects of war or the events that take place during war which are hidden or disguised from the public. When I say disguised, I am referring to acts of redescription and acts of omission, as described in Scarry (69-70). When a victory is declared, the number of dead is often omitted, giving the public a false sense of accomplishment. Even if the number of dead is given, it is usually only for the defeated army. The number of dead and wounded within the victorious side is often not included. The public doesn't know and doesn't see those who are dead and wounded from within the victorious army so they may not grasp the enormity of the situation but those who are involved in the fighting are affected by the friends they have lost and the injuries sustained, as are the close friends of family who are dead and wounded.

Let us not forgot that the wounds of war are not just limited to physical ones, there are also the mental scars of those involved in war, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression. This statistics are not as prominent within the public sphere but they cause many problems for those who are affected and the people around them, often for the rest of their lives. A report from 2008 shows that roughly 40,000 US troops had been diagnosed with the condition from 2003 onwards (Jelinek.) This is a fairly large number but it does not take into account the numbers of those are suffering from previous conflicts, are in the forces of other nations, or civilians and emergency workers who are also suffering. The total number of people around the world who are suffering from PTSD as a result of serving in the military or being involved as a civilian in a conflict zone is something that will probably never be known due to the stigma around mental health conditions. This to me is the private life of war.