There are a million books out there from veterans about what war is like from the perspective of a variety of MOS codes. What we lack in the veteran community are stories written about what transitioning back to civilian life is like, and those stories are missing because they are the most personally embarrassing and hardest to talk about. It takes a special kind of courage to talk about those stories, and it’s why I appreciate your writings so much. They are desperately needed not just for our current generation of veterans so that they can know that all those things they keep to themselves are *normal* for what we go through, but also to prepare future generations of veterans so they understand what things will look like when they transition back in terms of expectation management.
I always thought war itself was going to be the hardest thing I went through, but that expectation left me emotionally unprepared to deal with issues that were mostly invisible to me upon return until they started to really impact my life in bad ways (divorce/relationship issues, substance abuse, loss of purpose/motivation in life, overactive right amygdala fight-or-flight engagement, risk-seeking behavior related to the prefrontal cortex, etc.). Now I look back at war as the easier part because you can simply repress that shit for the time being and move on. Once you’re out, that repression becomes less effective over time and the emotional roaches start to emerge from under the rug.
I hope you have the best birthday possible, and I encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing with your writings. Not only will it help you process everything, but it will help others now and in the future. We need more veterans like you speaking about personal reintegration experience because it will force multiply others to come out and do the same. On a long enough timeline, there will be a body of personal anecdotes that future vets will be better-prepared in dealing with what’s in store for them—and not from psychologists without combat experience, but from their fellow brother and sisters across time. Thank you so much for being willing to share your experiences with the world. That takes a special kind of courage ❤️🙏
A wonderful accounting of the challenges of coming home and transitions. You are not alone. I am eternally grateful that you made it back, that you are taking good care of yourself, that you are enjoying life as it is, the normal things, personal freedoms that you have had to push away for far too long. The war is never done with our military members, it is dangerous while you are in service and also when you get out. It lingers among the nights of our family members as well as we worry about all of our futures. But you have done an excellent job of building the tools for resiliency -- exercise, journaling, meditation, slowing down, therapy and spending time reflecting. I am as proud of you for that as for your service. God bless you and all of you.
Happy Happy Birthday Will!! I hope you have a wonderful day today.l!! 🎂🎶🥳 Thanks for a beautiful piece. I'm so so sorry for everything you've been through in the service of our country. I'm glad to see you are slowly healing. I know its not an easy process.
As a Recovering addict and sexual assault survivor (more than once) with severe PTSD I do understand the daily battles. I so admire your positive attitude. Also I agree that practicing Gratitude is probably the Number one thing you can do to keep your spirits up. I learned that in Recovery. As we say in our Meetings, "It works when you work it!!" So keep up the great work and please keep writing. Reading your posts is a joy.
Again, I hope you have a fabulous Birthday and many, many more!!! God Bless. ❤️🇺🇸💙
Some day, on a far, far away date, perhaps humans may discover how to get along. Humanity has had over 200,000 plus years of practice living together, and yet we still kill each other in greater numbers than ever ever. 940,000 people have been killed by direct war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan. 400,000 plus were civilians. And we have, here at home, hundreds of thousands of soldiers wounded and living with disabilities, physical and mental.
For "educated" countries of the world to know that 1.9 billion people, or 24% of the world's population, live in impoverished conditions. And that Women are poorer than men in all racial and ethnic groups, humans suck.
I saw this title and avoided reading it all day - but then I clicked and I'm glad I did. Your last post made me cry for hours. My son is "in" and so far has seen no combat although he has had some existential convos with himself with regard to a recently completed non-combat mission. It tore a bit of his heart away and I could see it when he came home on leave. The rest of my thoughts will be held close to my heart.
Happy birthday Will! And thanks for the shoutout!
There are a million books out there from veterans about what war is like from the perspective of a variety of MOS codes. What we lack in the veteran community are stories written about what transitioning back to civilian life is like, and those stories are missing because they are the most personally embarrassing and hardest to talk about. It takes a special kind of courage to talk about those stories, and it’s why I appreciate your writings so much. They are desperately needed not just for our current generation of veterans so that they can know that all those things they keep to themselves are *normal* for what we go through, but also to prepare future generations of veterans so they understand what things will look like when they transition back in terms of expectation management.
I always thought war itself was going to be the hardest thing I went through, but that expectation left me emotionally unprepared to deal with issues that were mostly invisible to me upon return until they started to really impact my life in bad ways (divorce/relationship issues, substance abuse, loss of purpose/motivation in life, overactive right amygdala fight-or-flight engagement, risk-seeking behavior related to the prefrontal cortex, etc.). Now I look back at war as the easier part because you can simply repress that shit for the time being and move on. Once you’re out, that repression becomes less effective over time and the emotional roaches start to emerge from under the rug.
I hope you have the best birthday possible, and I encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing with your writings. Not only will it help you process everything, but it will help others now and in the future. We need more veterans like you speaking about personal reintegration experience because it will force multiply others to come out and do the same. On a long enough timeline, there will be a body of personal anecdotes that future vets will be better-prepared in dealing with what’s in store for them—and not from psychologists without combat experience, but from their fellow brother and sisters across time. Thank you so much for being willing to share your experiences with the world. That takes a special kind of courage ❤️🙏
A wonderful accounting of the challenges of coming home and transitions. You are not alone. I am eternally grateful that you made it back, that you are taking good care of yourself, that you are enjoying life as it is, the normal things, personal freedoms that you have had to push away for far too long. The war is never done with our military members, it is dangerous while you are in service and also when you get out. It lingers among the nights of our family members as well as we worry about all of our futures. But you have done an excellent job of building the tools for resiliency -- exercise, journaling, meditation, slowing down, therapy and spending time reflecting. I am as proud of you for that as for your service. God bless you and all of you.
Happy Happy Birthday Will!! I hope you have a wonderful day today.l!! 🎂🎶🥳 Thanks for a beautiful piece. I'm so so sorry for everything you've been through in the service of our country. I'm glad to see you are slowly healing. I know its not an easy process.
As a Recovering addict and sexual assault survivor (more than once) with severe PTSD I do understand the daily battles. I so admire your positive attitude. Also I agree that practicing Gratitude is probably the Number one thing you can do to keep your spirits up. I learned that in Recovery. As we say in our Meetings, "It works when you work it!!" So keep up the great work and please keep writing. Reading your posts is a joy.
Again, I hope you have a fabulous Birthday and many, many more!!! God Bless. ❤️🇺🇸💙
Oh crap, fogot. Happy, happy birthday.
Some day, on a far, far away date, perhaps humans may discover how to get along. Humanity has had over 200,000 plus years of practice living together, and yet we still kill each other in greater numbers than ever ever. 940,000 people have been killed by direct war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan. 400,000 plus were civilians. And we have, here at home, hundreds of thousands of soldiers wounded and living with disabilities, physical and mental.
For "educated" countries of the world to know that 1.9 billion people, or 24% of the world's population, live in impoverished conditions. And that Women are poorer than men in all racial and ethnic groups, humans suck.
IMHO
Keep on educating. May your daughter know peace.
Happy Birthday.
I saw this title and avoided reading it all day - but then I clicked and I'm glad I did. Your last post made me cry for hours. My son is "in" and so far has seen no combat although he has had some existential convos with himself with regard to a recently completed non-combat mission. It tore a bit of his heart away and I could see it when he came home on leave. The rest of my thoughts will be held close to my heart.
Bless you.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Will. I hope you’re blessings are immeasurable today. Every day too.