Does Anyone Else Have Recurring Dreams About Being Back In the Military?

Yep! Had one about a week ago. Damned if I know why. Great Job and Great Fun for 21 years but pretty sure I wouldn't want to do it again and I suspect the Dream was a Reality Check and brought back some of the not so nice aspects and memories.

I have recurring dreams about the military every night. I am always in a transition center waiting on assignment. There is always something missing from my uniform, wrong rank, missing equipment, last in line and late to my next appointment. I've tried to process these dreams myself because they are every night and I dream of nothing else. This morning I woke up after I was supposed to report for night duty in my dream. I am wondering if I'm in trouble tonight when I fall asleep. My processes lead me to believe my dreams are tied to the anxiety of reassignment. I've had some terrible bosses and have been yelled at plenty of times for doing exactly what I was supposed to do. I've had great bosses too. Never knowing what is next is what still bothers me. I once got out of the Emergency Surgery to find out I was in trouble because my Commander didn't authorize me to have Emergency Surgery. I've had Commander's move Physical Training formations every morning in attempts to make me, individually, late, so they could pull my retirement package. I've had Commanders secretly try to remove me from promotion lists because they felt I was advancing too fast, or better said, faster than my superiors advanced. Just going to work in those units was a living nightmare. Now I do it every time I fall asleep.

MSG, USA, (Retired)

I retired in 1994 after 22 years of happy service. I traveled the world visiting many countries. I still have dreams. What's weird is sometimes I'm there with these young troops of today and I'm at my current age. But they listen to my wisdom as I teach them about life and the importance of doing their job "right the first time".

I do all the time and I got out in 89 after doing 9 1/2 years but I have to take a buttload of mental health meds and I think that they are a big part of it. Sometimes it gets to the point I can't tell the difference between the dream and reality, and they are so real it's .....well......it's crazy.

Yes. I had the same dreams for a long time. They finally subsided after around ten years. I think they're fairly common.

Hello Sergeant DiFondi,
I'm retired Air Force MSgt Dan Harrison. I retired in 1994 after 22 years of service. And yes, I still have dreams of being back in the military. I had a wonderful career where I was stationed overseas for 18 years of my service tenure between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. There is no doubt that I could easily keep up with today's troops because unlike the Army, the Air Force (especially for Senior NCOs) is more about management and supervision. After retirement, I taught Middle/Elementary School for 16 years. Now fully retired I am enjoying my life.
Your dreams are perfectly normal. Embrace them, because you have accomplished something, seen things, and done things that only a small percentage of people in this country can relate to. And if you have someone who doesn't mind listening to your "war stories", talk.

Ha ha and laugh out loud. I retired in 2005. About once a month I have a very realistic dream about the military. My job for my last five years was as a SGM problem solver. So every one of these dreams is about some problem that is brought to me to be solved. My wife has actually told me I have talked in my sleep, me talking about some of the real bazaar problems soldiers bring to me to solve. She said a few times I even cussed and sounded very mad. Often I wake in the morning and say, OK good, that was only a dream. I am retired now.

I have dreams/ nightmares about being recalled and having to go through boot camp again before being allowed to continue at my former rank. The nightmarish part is my inability to keep up with my peers who stayed in for 30 years. The dreams are troubling, but I thought it might have to do with the fact that I was retired on disability and unable to make the Corps my lifelong career.

Yep, had pretty much the same dream about being recalled to active duty. Oh, maybe that's a nightmare.

Yes I have that dreams. I retire from the Army with 28 years active duty plus 7 years in the reserve.

All the time and we should. For most, our 20's & 30's were spent serving. There are a lot of old memories good or bad that will be remembered. I always like to tell my wife the dreams because they always have a weird twist which makes her laugh and me too sometimes. Congrats on Retirement. PS. Civilian life is quite the change. Enjoy the new challenge.

My friend in Arms, contact the VA or TriCare. Dealing with it is easy to say, sometimes. We all handle our Time in Service in different ways. You also have the Veterans Hotline that can provide guidance, if you are not near a VA your Tri-Care covers counseling. Nothing is wrong with you, your service represented the span of your entire adult life, it is who you are.

Good luck!

Sp4 Byron Skinner Relax and enjoy the memories MSG Di Fondi they are about a lot more then the USArmy, they are about a way of life. Each generation of us go through the same process. Change right now is intense and its not going to decrease any time soon in the Army. Its the new guys turn MSG Di Fondi

I'm not a psychiatrist or psychologist, but I hardly think it is PTSD; judging by the number of responses of the same type of dream. You could just buy a dream interpretation book. One of the most common dreams are being back in high school and failing, having to do it over again and so on. This sounds very interchangeable. Back in the military with back in high school. It all has to do with stress of your new life and adjustments to being out of the military. From one dream interpretation book: "To dream that you have to repeat high school, (hear I would insert military instead of high school) suggests that you are doubting your accomplishments and the goals that you have already completed. You feel that you may not be measuring up to the expectation of others. The dream may occur because some recent situation may have awakened old anxieties and insecurities..."
I think you are simply experiencing life and some of it's trials. Nothing that you can't handle. :)

I dream about every night about the Military days. I also have dreams about re-deploying back into Iraq! I have PTSD though, you might need help if your dreams are unsettling, or you have some night terrors. I take meds that help me to not hit, crab, kick, or pull my wives hair in my sleep during bad dreams.

I do dream about having to go back in for whatever reason. Most of the time I am yelling at people because they don't know or don't care that I am a Master Sergeant. Plus I have been having dreams about going back into the Infantry - only spent my first four years as an Infantryman.

I've had dreams of fighting to stay in until I reach my 20 years. I was medically retired just shy of 18 years. I wanted to do 20.

I've had the same "type" dream continuously for several years now. I retired after 20 years in the Navy. In my dream, I'm back in the Navy, its always around my 21 year mark, I know I retired and dont know why I'm still there. I have no uniform items whatsoever and my unit is either about to deploy or has just deployed. Different dreams every single time, but with that basic scenario.

Absolutely, yes....

I retired Back in 2004 with 22 years. and keep having dreams about being deployed and back with leadership from back in the early 1980's. I'm in my 60's now and can't imagine being back in the military. PT would kill me with all the arthritis I have now.