Older vets, have any of your friendships (other than military/combat) survived the years? Have you found any loyalty in civilians?

yes... quite a few actually. That said, you can not expect a "straight up" civilian friend to understand or fathom the military/combat relationships... nor should you really.

This is not unlike myriad of other "truths" for understanding another persons "survival experiences".... law school, medical school, basic training, OSUT vs AIT, Combat Arms vs Combat Service Support, and the list continues.

the important aspect is to have a mutual respect... or even love... for the friend.... person(s). If you have that... and they have the same for you... the rest really doesnt matter.

well thats my 2 cents

peace out

Yes, my classmates from our church's boarding school. Just as with the military it was a close shared experience which changed our lives and formed our thinking.

Cpl Fresch, Sir; Met my wife after fulfilling my Military obligation, she has been my loyal friend and partner for .. 41 years now... I do have one friend (civilian) of 27 years.. I used to work with, and we still stay in touch... Although, I feel that I could be a better friend, it takes two !