It was asked recently of me what life is like outside of the military. Good question and for me, a hard one to answer. My only experience with the military was the 5 1/2 years in Japan. Those that have lived at more duty stations, overseas or CONUS, will know better than me the differences of living in the "real" world. But of course I have put much thought into this question and the one answer that I can think of is "freedom".
Funny that as American citizens dependent on an active duty service member, we lacked certain freedoms that most civilians take for granted. Whether you live on or off a military base, overseas or CONUS, our lives were restricted by boundaries and limits. We had curfews, limits of speech, dress codes too. Access of care and services had limits as well. And of course, there's the military I.D. Soon after arriving in our new town, for but a few seconds, I would panic as I searched for my I.D. before going into Walmart. That was an easy habit to break.
Of course there are perks to being a military dependent, I'm not denying that. But I'd rather give up shopping at the commissary and using 6 month, out of date coupons, for the right to say what I want and not worry about the reprisal on my spouse or myself.
3 comments:
No surprises there after a lifetime of military rules. Living off the reservation helps, but I was hoping for juicy tidbits for getting in with the local Americans, being stymied by local culture, and complaints of no MWR bus trips! Kidding.
I understand Kim. Really, I couldn't think of any anecdotes where I entertained the locals with a major guffaw because I was used to the military way. Believe me, military habits are easy to break, such as standing for the National Anthem before a movie. Now to compare living in Japan vs. America, well, that's another blog.
Oh, and for getting in with the locals, may I suggest a good drink. I have a few favorites I've listed on this blog.
This was a good short entry. I have to say coming back into "real life" for us has been a challenge. I understand now how so many military families have a rough time transitioning. Our experience was very different I must say. And, we do have a very bad case of the grass is always greener syndrome!
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