TriggerhappySOB
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I love my wife and my son with all my heart, and I missed them every day while I was gone (She was home getting her degree for the majority of my enlistment). I could have jumped through some hoops, signed a different contract for a different MOS and stayed in for another 4 years or possibly longer, but my marriage was rocky at the time and I was disgruntled and disenchanted with the people I was working for. So I left, my marriage got infinitely better, my son was born, and I set about trying to find some income while I waited for my GI bill to kick in. But about a half year after I got out, I just stood in the middle of my living room in the middle of the night with only a beer for company, no job, no priorities, nothing to do, and asked myself, "Well... what the fuck now?". I haven't quite recovered from the realization that back home, I have none of the brothers and sisters I made when I was in, no objective, no motivation to get anything done or even work out anymore because there's no goal or objective that I care enough to work for here. I'm now a stay at home dad, going to school as a full time student, and the only thing that keeps running through my mind every day when I wake up is, "Get your degree. Get back in as an officer. Go fulfill your mission that you left halfway done.", and I can't tell my wife that because it's obvious my wife is happier now that I'm back home. Hell, i'm not even sure I'm willing to put them through it a second time, especially now that my son is getting old enough to make sense of the things going on around him. It's rough getting out of the military, and there's no amount of preparations you can make to transition 100% smooth. Just want to vent here to people I can't see and don't know, because my family doesn't want to hear it ("you got out by your own decision, suck it up" -Dragon/mother-in-law), and I'm not inclined to talking with my classmates since they're all 6-7 years younger than me and can't relate at all.
TLDR: Got out, civilian life sucks, want to get back in.
Oh, and please, for the love of god, don't tell me "thank you for your service/sacrifice/whateveryousayhere". I didn't do anything to sacrifice my time or body since A) I wanted to go, and the best times of my life have been while I was deployed, making the mission happen and I still feel like I have a lot more I left undone, and B) I never directly saw combat, I never came under fire, I came home whole and healthy when others I knew did not. There's men and women who deserve praise for what they did, but I don't count myself among them.
Steelwhip
dont get better Brother. Ive been out 25 years and would go back in a heartbeat if I could.
Thatguyinthechairinthebackwatchingyou
Semper Fidelis. Ooh Rah Marine.
CincinnatiOh
Feel the same way. Want to go back so bad & miss it all the time. Do what you feel is best. There's no re do's in life.
[deleted]
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TriggerhappySOB
You know, I get to bitch on the internet if I want to. Didn't do much of that while I was in though, actually enjoyed my time there.
LuckyNumber7
I got out in 2015. Went through the same thing. I still find it hard to deal with being a civilian. PM me if you ever wanna talk. Rah!
Natatattat
You need to talk to your wife. You’ll resent your family if you’re unhappy for too long, so what’s the point.
TriggerhappySOB
I do. Definitely don't want any more resentment in my life, I've got plenty.
oakleyk1
Hard to get the good dude on dude stuff at home eh?
TriggerhappySOB
Like you wouldn't believe.
314159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494
thank you for your service/sacrifice/whateveryousayhere
ImnotAllowedtoPostPublicly
TriggerhappySOB
Okay, I set myself up for that one.
metalchef72
df209
Get back in? Your wife may agree, idk.
TriggerhappySOB
I like to think so, but military life is rough on spouses. Still not sure what I even want to do yet though.
Mybrainfartwaswet
You will never find the connection or camaradarie in the civilian world as you do in the Corps. It just doesn't exist. Keep an open mind
Mybrainfartwaswet
now, it sounds like you may have a touch of PTSD. It can come from the separation, not just theater. Be open to your wife and talk about
Mybrainfartwaswet
it all. She may sense it and feel it is something different. No veteran feels they were a 'hero' or did anything very special. It was
Mybrainfartwaswet
just our job. The sacrifice of being separated from your lived ones is real. Military family here, wife and I were in the USMC. Son is
Mybrainfartwaswet
a Screaming Eagle in Iraq now. Semper Fi.
ClearBlue
I did 3 years enlisted in the Army. Got out, went back to college, came back as an officer and finished 20 years. Best thing I ever did.
ClearBlue
Not for everyone, but I enjoyed the fun, travel and adventure. Solid retirement benefits help, too. Or you could try the reserves.
TriggerhappySOB
I think it's what I want, the hard decision is about my family though. We're I single it would be an easy choice
ClearBlue
Tough choice. Maybe there will be fewer deployments over the next 20 or 30 years than in recent years. Nobody knows. Tough decision.
ImnotAllowedtoPostPublicly
finished in '92 after Desert Shield & Storm. Got a degree. Job and coworkers are boring. So I feel you. Now volunteer 2x a year to take....
ImnotAllowedtoPostPublicly
civilians willing to learn to shoot their first 5.56 rifle in a dynamic environment. Some have become Appleseed Mentors....
ImnotAllowedtoPostPublicly
... some became Sheriff or EMS personnel. Get a degree and become a role model for your kid and an awesome best friend to your wife...
ImnotAllowedtoPostPublicly
MCAGCC 29 Palms Jar head btw.
TriggerhappySOB
3MAW G2, rah! I'll keep it in mind
Thatguythatknowsbetter
Dude, you're doing exactly what my parents did.
Thatguythatknowsbetter
Engaged Or Divorced EOD
TriggerhappySOB
Afraid I don't quite understand what you mean.
Thatguythatknowsbetter
My dad was eod, and had the same problem with coming home and missing being away, he ended up Divorced
Thatguythatknowsbetter
Apparently that was the way with the ammo tech lot.
TriggerhappySOB
Sorry to hear that. It's tough. Hope that whatever I do, I don't put my son through it