Posted on Feb 9, 2015
Do you let people know that you have been deployed?
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In the civilian world do you let people know that you have been deployed or what you have done in the Military. I often find myself telling people that I have been in the Military but I tend to not go into much more detail than that unless they start asking questions. I have people that I have worked with for almost six years that have just found out that I was deployed. What have you done?
Deployment
Civilians
Military Career
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 37
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Why shouldn't you tell?
This isn't the Vietnam War. We kept everything quiet because the loonies would stalk our families if we knew we were in Vietnam. They would send fake death notices and harass them. None of that is going on now, is it?
Maybe people need to know that someone is still going in harm's way. The news media isn't saying much about it. It might embarrass someone if people knew too much. Maybe We the People have a need to know.
Maybe you need to talk it out. Warriors have been internalizing their experiences as long as there have been wars. They make excuses. They want to protect loved ones. They're ashamed of some of the things they did to survive.
Internalizing issues is never good. Many people explode when they keep things hidden. Some even hurt the ones they've been trying to protect. Their actions cause far more damage than their words.
Think about it...
This isn't the Vietnam War. We kept everything quiet because the loonies would stalk our families if we knew we were in Vietnam. They would send fake death notices and harass them. None of that is going on now, is it?
Maybe people need to know that someone is still going in harm's way. The news media isn't saying much about it. It might embarrass someone if people knew too much. Maybe We the People have a need to know.
Maybe you need to talk it out. Warriors have been internalizing their experiences as long as there have been wars. They make excuses. They want to protect loved ones. They're ashamed of some of the things they did to survive.
Internalizing issues is never good. Many people explode when they keep things hidden. Some even hurt the ones they've been trying to protect. Their actions cause far more damage than their words.
Think about it...
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If someone asks, I'll generally tell them I deployed to Afghanistan. I rarely go into more detail than that unless I'm with other vets (at a VFW meeting, for example).
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When I first got out and for a few years that followed I wore one those retirement hats! When it wore out I did not replace it, and I most likely never will. Home Depot know as the 10 percent off makes a difference in GP with much as I buy from them. TailGate Bar & Grill knows.....best chicken wings around, and I accept their discount, but that's it. I don't tell people anything. It only starts up the near 3rd degree question session. I find it easier to keep my lips zipped.
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Thank you everyone for the response so far. There are some new ideas here that I will have to try.
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I keep my journey through deployment and combat to myself... They don't / won't get it. Other brothers in arms will.
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Letting people know I was in the military, yes, I was proud to serve. Where I was and what I did is in the history books and I would like it to stay there. I have enough problems with those reminders as I can deal with now, don't need rhem back to the surface.
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People always ask...did ya make it over there? I kinda feel as if that is a dumb question. I did 6 deployments. 3 before 9/11. People tend to forget that several of us deployed to other places as well. My first pump was in Somalia.
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It doesn't come up much unless I'm at a jeep meet and someone sees my 2nd ID sticker. Oh, yeah, I'm a sucker for anything Jeep related!
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