What Things Were Difficult to Communicate to Family and Friends About Your Military Service? Login & Share to Win!

It was very difficult for me to communicate what I experienced in OEF/OIF without having an anxiety attack, panic and stuck in a depressed mood for YEARS! They continued to support me and love me until I was able to get some Mental Health help at the VA. Wow! I can't even believe I've been out longer than I served...God is totally awesome!

The way we ate food (fast). Being a very light sleeper. Not caring about trivial things like a shirt color or picking out shoes .Getting upset over misc. politics or something said about our military.

Undying camaraderie

Still got a lot I don't talk about.

the feeling of family, the stress of 24 on 24 off working with nukes, allways on call.

My DEROS from Vietnam was 2 weeks before Christmas, and I just couldn't tell my family I really wanted to be back in Nam with friends for the holiday. Also I couldn't share with them or anyone my experiences over there. I pushed down the "bad stuff" and was ashamed to admit there'd been many enjoyable times with friends.

How hard things really were.

Discipline and lack of privacy

the death of comrades

Basically, the whole experience from going to basic training, surviving combat and returning home. The relationships that are formed by working as a team, going through situations that are scarier then they will ever know. They want you to be the same person who went away, but you cannot be that person any more due to the things that have been seen and done.
The majority of people think going to the service is like going to college with the frat parties and you receive enough credits and you graduate. Little do they know what life in the service is like and do not want to even try to comprehend those experiences.