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Slow Motion My whole life has been leading up to this day, this moment. The day I graduate basic training. Two months of torture, sweat, and hard work has finally paid off. I never actually thought I’d be here, standing here. I 'm finally someone with a purpose in life, a soldier. My whole life I have wanted to be something more, something important, and now standing here it’s hard to believe I 've finally made it. I stand completely still, with the sun beating down on my face and the heat making it almost unbearable. The only thing that gets me through it is knowing I’m about to see my family for the first time in two months. It’s almost impossible not to run and find them in the crowd. I’ve never been one to struggle with missing family when I’m gone for things, but as I look into the crowd in the bleachers, all watching us, every one of them here for someone who is also standing in the crowd of graduates, searching for my parents, I realize how beautiful this moment is. Fort Jackson, South Carolina is a beautiful place, especially when you’ve been seeing the ugly side of it the past two months. But specifically this moment, with the sun setting behind the bleachers, making the crowd look almost angelic, the beauty of this place stands out to me, it makes me think about how happy I am to experience this. I was on the other side of this two years before. I was in the crowd waiting to see my older brother on his graduation day. I didn’t even think about what he had gone through for those two months away from his friends and family, until I went through it all myself. Now I’m aware. Now I know what he was feeling the day he stood there, completely still, waiting for us to come down to the crowd of soldiers and find him spec... ... middle of paper ... ... are missing their sisters and their brothers, the husbands and wives missing their spouse’s. And I feel for them, I feel sympathy, but even more so I feel pride. Pride I can say I made it, and I am officially a solder. Pride I am now part of a very small percentage that has made the decision to serve our wonderful nation. I thank God every day for those who serve with me, for those who are overseas fighting. Soldiers who have to be away from their friends and families not just for two months, but for over a year. I pray for them, for protection over them as they are in the heat of battle where there is so much death and destruction. So here is my question for you. What is your slow motion moment? Have you had a moment of realization, where something just clicked for you and all of a sudden it all made sense? I have, and it was one of the best moments of my life.
Living in a time of war is not easy for anyone, and the expansive nature of the current war can make it even harder. Though many people in America may not feel as if they have been effected by the ongoing war, it is likely that everyone has in some way, shape or form. One group most effected are those who have loved ones serving in the military. People with family members that are serving have to face significant hardship and challenges as they cope with a person they care about being in danger. Being away means that family members often don’t have as deep of emotional relationships and while technology can sometimes make that easier, it can also be more frustrating. I don’t know where my uncle is now, and millions of others have the same issue. War truly is hell, for the people fighting and the families back at home. It effects everyone.
There you stand over the body of a fallen friend, a brother or sister in arms. You are asking yourself why them, why not you? What could have I done to save them? That is when you wake up, sweating, panting. It was just a night terror, yet it feels the same as the day they died, even though it has been ten years. This is just one of the many emotional scars soldiers of war face. Though why do we go to war when this is the cost? For many it is because they are unaware of the psychological cost of war, they are only aware of the monetary cost. Tim O 'Brien addresses the true cost of war in The Things They Carried. O 'Brien suggests that psychological trauma caused by war impedes daily life in young Americans drafted into the Vietnam war. He does
All throughout this semester we have learned a great deal about the homecoming of our military veterans. From the wounds they live with, to the battles they face at home, and these men and women’s reintegration into society. Today I would live to focus somewhere else. Not on the soldiers who risk their lives and return home scarred and different, but on the families who missed them and welcomed them back home and back into society. These mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, siblings, are tasked with the tremendous task of helping and loving a loved one who has been changed by war.
When men see tragedies such as, dead men (from both sides) literally stacked upon each other and floods of bodies so thick you can’t walk through, it takes an emotional toll and can even effect the most resilient soldier. This is why Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was and is one of the most serious illnesses for soldiers in war. Often times we forget that the immediate danger is not always the worst part of war. It is only after the war when men start to think about what they saw and did that they can fully assess what happened and sometimes that can be too much for a man to bear on his
Many prayers these days include a blessing for the soldiers. It really does not matter where the plea for the troops comes in a prayer; it may be in the middle or tacked on to the end, but it sounds something like the following: “Lord bless our troops, and bring them home safely.” Yes, bless the troops, and every one wants each one to come home safely. However, this is a very general prayer. People use the verb “bless” because they really do not know what to say. What does it mean to “bless?” Some people can relate to the soldiers but most cannot. Some know what it is like to be away and under the pressures of combat, but most do not. An unknown soldier has said, “For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know." Christians with admirable intentions, lift up prayers to the Heavenly Father, knowing the Lord said in Luke 11:9, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Claiming this promise, it is Christians’ hope to aid born-again soldiers in the battles fought and waged by laying their petitions of their heart at the feet of the Lord.
Many of veterans i've met personally have a different way of living because of what they have experienced and are hard for them to live many horrible memories they have gone through. At first when I didn’t know better and I would meet someone that has served war I would ask them about their experience there. Until one time when I was a little older one of the veterans I met told me that for them the veterans, they will never really tell you what exactly happened because for us the civilized people that haven’t experienced harsh moments. Would be too much to handle and is why they try to avoid telling us those moments even though for them is hard to not think of them. But not long ago I met a guy in school he had just come from Iraq this guy was very much affected by the time he served in war. You couldn’t walk up to him without calling him from his name with some distance from him because he would get startled and try to hurt you because of one incident he went through in war. He would tell us these crazy stories these I did believe where true war stories he didn’t hold anything back we would all sit in class listening to him tell his stories to the professor which also was fascinated and also a little to curious. Well since we were in a class room full of grown men already and the professor himself seamed crazy well was actually he actually felt like telling the story how it was. I don’t really remember the story how it
It is beautiful to see so many loving family members and friends here to share in this occasion, especially those who have traveled some distances to
"How do you return to the real world when only other soldiers can understand how you've changed" (Swofford 12)? This is what almost all soldiers feel when they come home from the war. People question them on what happened while they were there and ask how many people did they kill when they were at war. Home just doesn't feel like home to them anymore. When the soldiers come home all they want to do is forget about everything that they have done until they are ready to talk about it.
I have been blessed to have led a highly fulfilling career over the past 22 years. The Air Force’s standards of conduct and performance have helped me mature into an adult while creating lasting memories along the way. I have had the opportunity to make significant contributions to my country that offer a sense of pride and personal achievement. My current duties allow me to directly contribute to the Air Force and Joint arena on an almost daily basis. Joining the Air Force helped me to realize I had undertaken a task bigger than myself.
feeling. A feeling of appreciation for the solders that are fighting for our country at this
Being a soldier was a really tough life. In the end I hated doing the same thing day after day with no change in sight, I despised the leaders that didn 't take care of their subordinates, and most importantly, I couldn 't lead my soldiers from the front anymore. I 'll be the first one to say that joining the army was the best thing to happen to me. I have grown so much as a person and the lessons I learned are invaluable. In the end I realized the negative factors outweighed any possible benefit I might receive from continued service. It was time for me to
Have you ever had a moment in time that seems like minutes or hours even though it was only a few seconds? Have you ever seen everything before you play out in slow motion, where you are aware of everything around you, yet not knowing what was going on? I have, and as I look back on it, I feel very blessed and protected. On March 21, 1987, I decided to take a little swim in our swimming pool and almost drowned.
On May 31, 2011, there were over 1,400,000 men and women enlisted in the United States Armed Services (U.S. Department of Defense). Over a million brave soldiers who left their homes behind in order to secure the American way of life. Every day, this number rises. Although some of these soldiers will return home and appear to be unscathed, “in war, there are no unwounded soldiers” (Narosky). Dehumanization, depression, terror, alienation, exhaustion, loss of faith, and feelings of betrayal (among a horde of other problems) plague veterans every day of their service and every day after they come home. The trauma of war creates such a deep psychological scar that no service member can truly be called “unwounded”- a fact that civilization can neither deny nor avoid.
We can’t go without talking to them. No one should take their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., for granted. Family is who will always be there no matter what happens in someone’s life. In times like what occurred in mine earlier this year, we were there for each other and we became very close. Sadly, it took such an event to get us like that and I now cherish my family Christmases and Thanksgivings.
Every year I learn more about myself. The person inside no longer takes peeks at the world outside, but screams "Look at me, see what I’ve become, watch because I am coming!" I’ve been through difficult times, but the odds are starting to lean my way; I feel ready for any challenge that may arise.