Reflection On Today's Veterans

Words: 341
Pages: 2

The feeling that I have had since my return home and to civilian life is that of a stranger in a foreign land. My home had changed so much. The people, even those I have known my whole life are strangers to me. When I was young, I always thought this was something that seemed somewhat unique to my mentors of the Vietnam Era, who trained me and to whom I listened. The realities of today have provided me with numerous reminders of how the latest generation of combat veterans are also becoming more and more like strangers in our own land. The experiences that are common to other veterans and myself, are so uncommon amongst the rest of American society today that my perspective is a solidification of a unique attitude or way of regarding and interpreting the world. So, I will attempt to articulate through this essay a few themes, …show more content…
The United States Department of Veteran Affairs asserts that veterans are taught to develop a sense of professionalism that comes from a strong culture of selfless service, strict accountability and individual responsibility (“Understanding Military Culture | VA Community Provider Toolkit” 2015). The private sector will talk about these values, and in many cases similar principals are adopted, however, in the military these principals are truly the steroid versions due to stringent training and enforcement of standards. This obviously has a tremendous impact on creating a common view of things that contrasts greatly from the perspective that can be provided by institutions of higher learning and other civilian institutions. It is not something that can be truly appreciated by somebody who has never experienced life in Military Service. For better or for worse, it is one of the reasons why a person remains an Airman, a Marine, Soldier, or Sailor until the day they die, regardless of how long they may have