The case of an atypical combat reaction in a 32-year-old soldier is presented. The initial phenomenon was a self-inflicted gunshot wound of the foot, while the post-traumatic symptoms appeared after a latent period 10 months. The combat stress reaction itself was identified during psychotherapy as the reactivation of trauma experienced in a previous war. Dimensions highlighted by this case include functional versus clinical measures used in diagnosis, and therapeutic considerations, such as the principles of immediacy, proximity and expectancy involved in the immediate combat stress reaction and thereafter.