Sheepdog Tip of the Day, After Combat tip 54
We know that it is common for junior high or high school female athletes to stress their bodies in training to the extent that they stop having their monthly periods. It is logical, therefore, that junior high or high school girls, who witness the horror of their friends being gunned down, may also experience a cessation of their periods. It is a normal response. Now, we know there is an ongoing level of sexual activity among high school and middle school students, and after a horrific incident, such as a Columbine or a Jonesboro, there is going to be an even greater level of sexual activity. How do you think the girls are going to react when they fail to have their periods? Stressed? Do you think it might stress those boys out, too? We think some of the extreme stress response, and perhaps even some of the suicides that occur in the first two months after these horrendous events, might be linked to this phenomenon. These young girls' lives are already stressful (i.e., their tubs are already full) just dealing with all that goes into being a teenager, so when they experience a traumatic event, and a few weeks later think they are pregnant, it can be just too much for some of them. This is a relatively easy problem to deal with. When we were working in the school after the Jonesboro massacre, I was first made aware of this possibility by my old battalion sergeant major, Jeff Shearman. He knew about it from his time as a drill sergeant in charge of a platoon of female recruits. After the shootings, we advised the girls' physical education teachers to tell their girls' PE class that their periods might stop in response to what they had experienced. The girls should know that if it happens, it does not necessarily mean they are pregnant. That is all it took to shortstop the problem.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Combat
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