I am retired Army.......20 years.
I never expected it to be that way. I reenlisted to finish college and it was 10 years before I graduated from
Austin Peay University / Ft Campbell, KY
But after you have 10 years....well you may as well do 20.
I was 11Bravo / Infantry and was pulled for Recruiting duty, returned to Infantry and they they told me I had to return to Recruiting with 150 others because they were struggling at the time. So I retired as a 79R / Recruiter, SFC/E7.
I hated Recruiting. 12 - 14 hour days every day and I worked every Saturday. The only time I had a Saturday off was when I took leave / vacation. I hated it.
I did 2 tours in Germany and loved them. At least when it was not cold or raining. Germany is beautiful though. Lots to see, castles are as common over there as water towers that we see here.
I never went to Desert Storm, Afghanistan or Iraq. I was never in a unit that was called to go.
The closest I came to deployment was during Desert Storm and we had to get our shot records updated and create a Will. That was it.
I was Airborne and Air Assault.
I had some good times, but Recruiting was miserable.
I try to say thanks when I see a vet. One day I was speaking to a Vietnam vet and he was telling me about his experiences as a SF medic in Vietnam. I thanked him for his service and for keeping the country free. He teared up and said that it was the first time anyone had every thanked him for serving in Vietnam. This was 2002.
I get a modest check every month but it's not worth the sacrifice I made. 2K a month is nothing compared to working 6 days a week, or spending 180 days a year sleeping under the stars. I had some good times, met some good people, and saw some amazing sites, but you also lose a lot of earning power and you slowly lose a little part of yourself.
I have Tricare but I only use it for dental work.
I have not been to the PX or the Commissary in ten years.
The savings are not that great and many items are cheaper at WM and Target.
When I was a kid, everyone in my family was a veteran of WW2, Korea or Vietnam. I looked up to them, but when you tell someone that you were in the military today it's more like.....that's nice.......or..... poor guy etc.. I never expected to be put on pedestal but I don't think there is a lot of respect or admiration for military service. But the public and the politicians are awful quick to send us into harm's way if it is politically convenient.
I hope Trump follows through on his promise to remove troops from Afghanistan during his next term. 19 years is WAYYYY too long to be there.
I don't think anyone thanked me for my service until 9-11. I had a few Germans thank me when I was overseas but no one in the states thanked me until 9-11.
Anyhow, that's my rant.........lol
