Memorial Day is coming up. So I thought I would post this. Don't get me wrong, I love my Civilian Life, but it isn't Military Life at all. So here you go:

It will be Veteran’s Day soon. I am a Veteran. Not a Combat Veteran... but I had a long career in the Army. Even one enlistment is enough to show how big the gap between Civilian Life and the Military is.

First, we served our Country. Yep. At just eighteen years of age (or around then) we joined the Service. There is a reason they are called the Services. We served. We became part of something bigger than ourselves.

There aren’t many jobs coming out of HS or College, where your needs take back seat to the Country you are serving. And you can quit a Civilian job. Heck, you can just walk away and not even tell them you quit.

Don’t try that after you enlist in any Branch of the Military. It comes with a rather harsh set of penalties for being AWOL (Absent Without Leave). The Penalties for Desertion….well those are Capital Offenses.

So be glad you can Quit your job. Soldiers cannot.

You can yell your Boss to go jump in a lake- and even not listen to his orders. The worst that can happen is you get fired. Again…don’t try that in the Military. Unless you know your Commander really well and you have a legitimate bone to pick.

Officers and NCO’s have enough experience to (usually) stop you from making a fool of yourself and opening yourself up for accountability thru the USMCJ - getting you anything from a Written Reprimand, an Article 15, or - God Forbid, one of the levels of Court Martial.

You sign a contract to serve in the Military and they believe you should honor it. You must have discipline for yourself, and be ready to be disciplined... if you can’t discipline yourself.

There aren’t many Civilian Jobs that just the training puts you in harms way. The weapons of War are an ugly necessity…and you have to train to use them.

A fire on a ship, a misfire at a mortar range, a helicopter crash, being washed overboard during your watch on a vessel in heavy seas. A mistake during a live fire mission….heck you can even be injured or killed just doing physical training that takes you to the edge of exhaustion.

Every year we lose Men and Women in training exercises…just from learning to do their jobs. It is not an easy life.

Civilian jobs allow you to go home at night. You are “off duty.” No such thing in the Service. Sure you can go off post to your apartment…but if an alert or Order comes down…you go back to work. Every minute of your Enlistment you are available at a moments notice to be sent where your Country needs you.

Sometimes with no chance to say goodbye to those you love. And in some cases, you can’t even tell them where you are going, or how long you will be gone.

Military life is not Civilian life.

There are social things that Civilians take for granted. Like dating and being married to someone who is there every day.

“Dear John, and Dear Jane” letters are something every Military person who falls in love has to deal with at some time or another. It is difficult to hold onto your HS girlfriend, or boyfriend when you are thousands of miles away and only get a few days leave to visit them.

You might end up in a different State for up to three years. Or maybe, even a different country. Trying to keep a relationship going when you are in Germany, Africa, or out to sea for six months…well, it isn’t easy.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Civilian jobs are not difficult or dangerous. I am saying that you have a freedom of choice that Soldiers don’t have.

Not many Civilians miss the birth of their child. The same can't be said for the Military. Now that women serve along side men in Combat Arenas…new Mothers have to leave their babies at home…and go do their Duty.

Something most folks wouldn’t have to even contemplate in Civilian life. Dad’s have been doing it for every war. And yes, it is hard on young men to not see their baby until it is six months to a year old. Not by choice, by duty.

If you don’t like your fellow employees, you can stay away from them, change jobs, or ignore them. In the Military…well, you have to learn to get along. That guy or girl in your Squad has to have your back if the stuff hits the fan.

And they will be there as long as their enlistment says. Could you spend two years with someone you didn’t like…and learn to not only work with them, but count on them?

The Service expects you to grow up, deal with it, and get the mission done. It is a hard lesson to learn…but so immensely valuable.

When I was in, we slept in barracks with fifty men to a Bay. Two rows of Bunk Beds…and a Wall locker and Footlocker held all of your Earthly possessions.

When you shipped out to a new Base or Assignment…you got one Duffel Bag. And you always had a “Go Bag” or “Bug out” bag that had only the necessities in it.

You could leave it all behind, grab your “Go Bag” and then you were gone.

In Basic and AIT, you share a giant bathroom with ten commodes, a communal shower, and sinks. Not many jobs have you stand naked with fifty other Soldiers you have never met.

Going to the bathroom with someone sitting on either side of you doing their business…takes a bit of getting used to. So does eating food out of bags, washing dishes in clean garbage cans, or trying to sleep in room filled with fifty other folks.

Just another day in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard. And that new Space Force?

Those poor folks are stuck in Thule Greenland hundreds of miles from the nearest town with Civilians in it. And one of their Guard Duties…is to watch out for Polar Bears!

You don’t get to go home for Birthdays, your sister’s Wedding, or Graduations from Colleges or High Schools. They do try to get you home for Funerals…but often you get home when it is too late.

I loved my time in the Military. I was close to my Squad and Platoon mates. I can’t even imagine the strength of the bond between Combat Veterans.

Those folks are a different breed. Combat Vets could not care less if you cheated on your spouse, drank too much, or aren’t very good at reading.

They only care that they can depend on you to watch their back, cover for them in battle, and know they will not leave you behind. They don’t even have to like each other to know they can depend on each other.

Those men and women who have been battle tested: have seen, done, or experienced things that most of us will never have to see or do. Thank God.

Memorial Day means a lot to those of us who Served. And every day is Memorial Day for those who lost anyone who served.

I am proud of all of our Veterans. All of them. They gave up a part of their lives for us. Some gave their whole lives.

On Veteran’s Day…take a moment to think of the Veteran’s you know. Be glad they stood up for you while others just stood by.

I have never met a Veteran who loved War. All of the Veterans I know, want Peace. They are willing to fight for it, but they would rather we learned to get along.

War is hell. And yet it has sent so many to Heaven.

I wish for peace. I always have. I still do. But until we learn to all get along…we need those that Serve.

God bless them all…and their families.

I salute you.