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I would also argue that we cannot lose our identity -- or the self -- without our permission. So the simply solution is to take back our lives by taking responsibility for it. To do any less would be to pass the blame to others -- whether they be society, groups, religion, parents, or even to that which we are exposed, i.e, movie violence -- instead of ourselves.

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If my personality was erased and replaced with some other personality, I would have no idea how they would act without knowing the personality being replaced, because they would be a different person from me, since I am identical to my beliefs, DE-sires and dispositions.

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Being reprogrammed and inundated with the principles and mindset of a soldier would be an immense undertaking for anyone. Where this road leads is complex in nature to say the least. I believe that the warrior values instilled, while immensely successful in achieving their desired goals on the battlefield, often lead to difficulty reintegrating into society. I feel like after my tour of duty I would find myself wandering the halls of a college, perhaps not this one, but a college nevertheless. I would be in search of a pathway, a guide to a new identify after losing my original and now straying from a lifestyle accepting of my reformulated version. I would have to attempt to break myself down and rebuild the entirety of the framework in hopes of finding new values, ethics, interests, and pursuits. I would have to find a new meaning to life. I would have to find a new me.

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Loss of one's identity due to the external cause could be more problematic than the internal cause. And the only way of knowing the change in perception, such as losing an identity, should only be observable by an individual. Therefore, one's claim on losing an identity cannot be verified from a different perspective. In this sense, forming a different identity, without having someone to tell from a different perspective, is a myth. Therefore, even if I have lost my personal identity and had formed a new one, there is no way I could arguably claim that I lost personal identity. And the approach to see it from someones perspective is merely an opinion. So, in Philosophical sense, I am the person who I was before, and I will be the same person who I will be. Ergo, loss of one`s identity should be an adaption like we form the new knowledge.

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If I woke up and realized that my self had been erased and replaced with a killing machine, the moment this became apparent I'd spend the rest of my life attempting to find who I lost in the reprogramming. Or as Charles Bukowski once said, “Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?”.

Many of us are given a set of beliefs and norms by our families and culture. But we are not subject to become what we've been programmed. In fact, many of us -- especially in my case -- did not adopt the attitudes and beliefs as those with whom we were raised. To believe that we are nothing but the product of our environment presupposes that at no time are we ever faced with a choice of buying into these norms or choosing something else for ourselves. Too much credit is given to our environment for what we ultimately become. At the core, there is a tendency to pass the blame for who we become to our upbringing rather than our choices. But to do so negates the role we played in our existence. To do so abdicates the responsibility we have for our lives.

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I think I would not be the same person as I am currently. I would be in a very dark place, as I am someone who doesn’t cope well with major difficulties. Also coming out of an organization that provides little to no help in dealing with mental disabilities would also further hinder my potential for dealing with coming back from a combat setting.

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To be perfectly honest, I am not entirely sure I would still be here. I think when one’s identity is stripped and built back for a specific purpose, and after some time that purpose no longer exists - your program is rendered useless. Is there a chance to return to an earlier self? Is your identity just buried deep within? If so, then perhaps there’s hope. I think it would be extremely difficult to reprogram oneself from the inside out. There would be no external force, no institution, no daily program to “uninstall” the killing machine and reinstall something new. At this point, I don’t think we can really judge combat veterans for suicide. It’s complex. But, considering the fact that many do find hope, that many do survive and find modes of continuing on - perhaps the human person, the son, daughter, husband, father...is still there after all that time. Perhaps the identity isn’t fully stripped, and that creates some cognitive dissonance, some frustration for those returning from war. I can’t even begin to imagine what the struggle must be. And what sort of expectation should they have? Complete healing? Or just enough healing to get by? And if the latter is the case, what then?

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If I had my life changed such that I had my values and beliefs stripped such that I could not tell with were genuinely my own anymore well, I would find myself in your same situation, trying to find “myself”, or rather trying to make myself into the kind of person I have chosen to be. Examining societies values and deciding if I find value in them and even assigning value where I see fit. I would be making something of myself, only society doesn’t decide what that something should be.

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My life would have been a lot different if I had never enlisted in the military. Where I am at today in my life would be drastically different. The people I know, the experiences I have had, would all have been changed. Would I have wanted this change? Or do I prefer things as they are now?

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Well I joined the Marines so what you described already happened. Instead I'll tell you if I hadn't joined. I would of either gone to video game design school I'd hope. Be a game designer.

On other side is if I hadn't been paralyzed on active duty. At the time I was on my way to officer candidate school. I would have lead Marines into combat in Iraq, Fallujah and Afghanistan. In 98 and 99 though I was already in the middle east with the 31st MARSOC on the front line just prior to the invasion as we had several operations n campaigns at that time in theater to include my involvement with stopping a genocide in east Timor and Africa. I was hurt just prior to 9/11 and had just reenlisted  in 2000 having joined in '96. I had planned to be a career soldier but unsure as many tours would have worn me down and i know my ptsd would have included first hand seeing my men die vs the ones i heard after the fact as i was already retired by '02

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I am at a loss. I suppose, presuming reprogramming as a killing machine, life in the “normal” lane would be problematic at best. On the other hand, the quest for the excitement previously experienced might lead to excessive risk taking. Or, I think, the attempt to understand the nature of my position could lead to catharsis through community service and involvement. Who knows? I presume any path involves some degree of guilt. This all depends on the nature of the reprogramming.