What is the worst part about being a service member or veteran?

The worst part of active duty for me was the anxiety caused by the expectation of a midnight phone call that would result in not knowing when you might, if ever, be back. It was accepted, but still an anxious reality. As for civilian life, it was living in a community where there was no understanding of what you had been doing the last 4-30 years, and as a result sort of feeling like a fish out of water.

Worst part isa watching our fucked up political system fail the US population, consistently. Back and forth, lying Anna making up stupid shit. Disregarding the law and those elected to hold us accountable. If the va was run by veterans, which most of it is, we'd all be dead. Luckily, we have some folks who actually care about their jobs and patients

My experience as a civilian manager and supervisor is the everything comes before the job. Totally different from the military. The only thing that came close to the civilian attitude was my assignment to a plum terminal assignment base--all most everyone had one foot out the door.

I did 31+ years and now that I've been out for 20 years I must say (in reflection of the things that still bother me) it's the not only double standards but the double standards where an enlisted member with 12 (or less) years of education is held to a higher standard and accountability than is a commissioned officer (MOST notable senior field and flag grade officers). The USN's motto is "Honor, Courage, Commitment" - not so much held to above the E6 level. The outright dishonesty, lack of accountability, etc. is in the paper each week. I'm not even going to go into the various examples but the Fat Leonard case would be a good read.

For me, it's the personal restrictions that have nothing to do with mission. I came in under DADT. It prevented me from making meaningful connections as a young Airman. I avoid any social gathering or even everyday conversations as much as possible because an innocuous question like "What'd you do last weekend?" could force me to choose between my integrity & a career I have wanted since I was a young kid. The difference it made after my first PCS post-repeal was night & day. I could freely socialize with my shop & get to know them, & they, me. It led to better relationships & a whole lot less stress. It also meant my spouse could be supported the same as any other spouse when I deployed.

Being away from my family for sure. The other thing that has probably cause the most emotional strain is seeing what war does to people. And by that I mean the ones fighting it AND the ones who just happen to live where it's taking place.

I retired in 2005 and the army had gotten far too politically correct for my tastes. Under Dear Leader O’Bumbles, and the reign of King George Bush II, it got far worse.

Just got done reading everyone's posts. Brought back loads of memories, both good and bad. I think, (like so many others), I had both good times and bad. There were both things I liked, and didn't like. Probably the thing that got under my skin the most was "favoritism", and/or politics....both military, and civilian.

But, in an effort to be positive, I think ONE OF the things I MISS the most, are the hi-jinks that leave you laughing so hard your throat and face hurt, and you have tears rolling down your cheeks.

But without a doubt, the [single] most traumatic event for me was having Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines blow up in our faces. People sometimes want to counter with: "Well...I've been in a tornado.", or "I've been in a hurricane." Well, I'm here to tell ya; I've experienced tornado's as well as hurricanes, (or Typhoons, as they're called in that part of the world). 2 of them were "super" typhoons. And none of these compare to having a whole, entire, freaking MOUNTAIN....EXPLODE!!!!, in your face!!! In fact, it was one of the largest pyroclastic eruptions ever recorded since they started keeping track of them, (eg: bigger than the Mt. St. Helens pyroclastic eruption in Washington state in 1980). THEN, we got hit with a typhoon just a day or two later, and then another eruption. NOT, FUN!!!! As the years have gone by, I've learned that most of the Marines who were there with me came down with PTSD from the experience....myself included. Mother Nature showed us, (first hand), that she is so big, and so powerful, that she can squash us like bugs, and not even be aware that she did so. So....I don't mess around with Mother Nature any more since being present for that event. If the weather forecaster recommends staying at home, I keep my happy ass at home. And you won't see me visiting Yellowstone any time soon. No. It's not the same as being in combat. But that does not mean that being caught in pyroclastic volcanic eruption does not cause a significant emotional event.
I don't want to, and won't, but if anyone else is interested, you can look up the Mt. Pinatubo eruption on the internet, (in general), and You Tube, (specifically). Pretty safe bet that it's in Wikipedia as well.

The worst part for me was deciding what color of socks to wear. In the Navy if my shoes were brown, I wore brown socks; if my shoes were black, I wore black socks; and if my shoes were white, I wore white socks. So after retiring, I stopped wearing socks

I have recently come to the realization it is hard to be proud of fighting on the loosing team. First Viet Nam and our "withdrawal with honor" . Then Afghanistan, deserting and abandoning allies and Americans, even to the point of sneaking out of Bagram in the middle of the night. And now Ukraine.
I served proudly and at times fought hard. But
What is the worse part about being a veteran?
THE SHAME