Congratulations for becoming a civilian once again. Like yourself, I am a veteran adjusting to this twisted, deeply augmented life that’s filled constantly with uncertainty. Transitioning to a normal life outside of the parameters of military life can be overwhelming and disjointed. And this is partly why I created this site.
Before I go any further, I want to introduce myself to you, my fellow brother and sister in arms. I signed up in January 1987 with the U.S. Army and was shipped out for Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina the following month. I had a job working with the federal government at the time and they released me on a furlough. My time in basic training was challenging but made it through despite an foot injury that later proved hazardous to my training. Afterwards, I went to Fort Gordon, GA for A.I.T. (Advance Individualize Training) to learn my military job, 31Lima [36C] – Wire Systems Installer. As I learned my job of climbing poles (yes, you heard right), my boot gaft split the indentation of the pole and I slid down 20′ to the ground. Long story short, I busted both feet. The accident made an already not so healed injury from basic training worse. Needless to say, I was stuck at Fort Gordon for a year until finally being able to progress through the classes, fitness tests and graduation. Well, that’s my story, my intro, in condensed version. One day, I’ll read your amazing stories in your posts.
Pretty much you probably made it to your local VA health care for that free checkup and one time free dental checkup within the 90 day period since being home. If you haven’t, you should take advantage of it.
Also, it would be a great idea to file for compensation if ever you were injured or suffered sickness while serving in the U.S. military. It’s what I did even though it takes a lot of patience to get past the aggravation of the whole process.
Find out as much as you can concerning your VA benefits. You’ve earned it after all. As I develop this site, I’ll provide you with needful contacts and information that would aid you in your pursuit of benefits.
My desire is to welcome you home and thank you for your service and protecting our nation.
usarmywise20 
I´m a veteran but of the Spanish army, the Spanish Legion where I think there are more nuts than I have ever encountered in the civilian life (I include myself). I had no idea there was a job like yours, not in the Spanish army or at least that I saw. There was the guys in “transmissions”, but hanging up in the air installing poles…. never heard that one. And you ended up reading one of my posts where I talk about jail or the possibility of it. I did get in a bunch of trouble after the army, quite the story.
Looking forward to reading more of the American army when time permits, although you guys have it (certainly not perfect) but you do have a VA system, we don´t have that. You get deployed you come back, half the country doesn´t even know they have an army the other half hates it, granted that the whole Armed Forces of my country is just 175.000 people “strong”, go figure what war are we able to win with those numbers and the technology we have….that´s another misery compared to you guys.
I was talking about the VA over there in the U.S, since I did lived half of my early life in the U.S and have two friends that joined the Marines, I do know a bit about it. Granted that you guys also are the ones that take most, I would say 75%-80% of the fighting when we get deployed in a “multinational” qualition, multinational…. that´s quite interesting word when you have one country a.k.a the U.S doing most of the fighting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve heard of the Spanish Legion. And I thank you for your service and body and mental sacrifice for your country. Yes, indeed I think we call it the same, transmission: communication. To me it’s a spice of words doing similar jobs. Does your country allow women to serve? Ours do and worse, they let them work in infantry (grunt) jobs. You reminded me of my brother (who was in the Gulf war) always getting into trouble afterwards (lol👄). Surprised that there isn’t a VA in your area. I think it’s the least a country can do to show appreciation for such a huge commitment. As for the U.S., and I’m not alone in my opinion about this, they tend to stick their nose in other people’s situations. We’re always being deployed to some war and now we’re stuck in the longest war since the Vietnam War. Nobody knows when its really over. Probably when we all die (or from old age sterilization, one kid per parent law like China had, or some nuke action)
LikeLike
I was in the infantry, and yes women are in the infantry and I had a friend in the Paratroopers that the liutenant was a woman. And I agree with you when you let women get into the real nasty stuff of “grunt” work, specially when you are deployed. You destroy the whole dynamic of the team. If we already as all guys do have our differences as you well know, you add a woman to the mix and what you call “unit coherence”? It´s just not good to say the least. And not to tell you about that it is a macho culture, civilians have a lot of trouble to understand that, is not civilian world where everyone is equal, you have to be understanding of others, e.t.c. No, you earn it. The first present that I got to my unit the first day was a whooping, and a real one. In the civilian world they will call it harrasement and can´t be tolerated, I also got pissed on and other things, then I did the same thing to the new other guys. You have to earn to be part of the group, and if that means throwing out punches so be it.
Talking about women or at least my experience with them in the army that is, the whole platoon fucked this girl. And she was more than happy, sounds quite ugly now writing about it and remembering but you put a bunch of guys, with quite a lot of testosterone, being out in shitty places for months and there is this girl out there, she did knew her place in the group that´s for sure. So I´m certainly not saying it is o.k, but you can´t expect guys doing that type of job to treat women in that type of environment the way they would do in the civilian world. I also had a friend who punched a seargent who was a woman, right before getting deployed. She was just transfered to his unit for the deployment so the army could be political correct and the previous officer wich they had been training for months and months was literally taken out but just for the deployment part, so this friend saw that the whole unit that was used to doing things this or that way now they got this woman that for us is not really one of us, that is now in charge of our safety, so he just knocked her out. At the end he didn´t go to jail nor was kicked out of the army because of higher ups that backed the guy, but that woman never returned to his unit, so she could get her moment of triumph to just say “I was in Afghanishit and I had 5 guys under me” Screw that. If you live it, you will understand it that it is not natural putting a woman in that environment. Now not to say that some women, very few but yes some, can do the jobs of infantry guys, but I´m talking about the whole group dynamic and as you well know in order that you accomplish a mission it´s crucial to have that group dynamic working as well as it can.
Man, did that get me going…..
About the VA well for us is natural to come home and not have a welcome party let a lone a hospital for veterans.
and yes, you are being deployed too much, how can these guys spend a year and a half come home, then back again in some instances for a second or third time and not have some issues in the head. Just nuke the whole thing and get it over with.
I never entered the army for God and Country, I was 19, I was bored of my crummy jobs, and this was the most exciting job as I could find. And the key word is JOB, since our basic training we had the “pater” which would be sort of a chaplain in the us, remembering us that this was just a job, a dangerous one but a job. So later on you are proud of hanging the Spanish flat in the compound or whatever, but I had always looked it as a job that I wanted to do and with very good people around me, a bunch of bastards and nuts but to do that specific job I knew those where the types I wanted to be around. So for me it was not an ideological thing. The only thing that mattered to me and us was for us to get back, not much more to it. Could care less about the country.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can only imagine that infantry work in any capacity is a hard and ugly job to do that’s unthankful and unglamorous. Women, and I am one, definitely do not belong in that environment. I don’t know what goes on, but any type of sexual assault or sexual abuse is frowned upon in the military and they – the offender- would be court martialed without hesitation. Now a lieutenant carries some weight as an officer and that lady should have known what her rights were being surrounded by a group of men. She didn’t respect herself enough so she allowed it to happen. That’s my opinion. Only a woman who’s hard core and show men she is not be reckoned with could probably last in an all male group. You’re right in that you put a woman in a place where high leveled testosterone driven men who haven’t had sex in a long ——long time, she is going to be the feast of the evening. That’s crazy!! That lady had no self esteem, no care about herself to let those men (I hope you weren’t involved but heard through the ‘grapevine’) violate her in the most inhumane way. Even jails have one section for men and one for women offenders. Its just sounds so deplorable as human beings we got to act less than and try to justify it as the way it is. Good talk on that topic because so many times we live through things and it still comes back and forth in our memories and needs to be spoken out in order to be released from the mind torture.
Like you I didn’t serve for patriotic reasons and you’d be surprised that a lot if soldiers bare in it for the GI Bill(education), run from the law, and some crazy reasons anyone joins. I joined because I liked the idea of having two government jobs. Here you can only have one (or so ‘they say’) federal government job. My recruiter who didn’t lie to me to get me to sign up, got me interested in my future retirement. Whacked but it worked on me! I was 23 when I joined and convinced my brother after doing training to get in.
Well, I’m signing off. Got in from church service so I’m quite exhausted. Hold your head up and be brave everyday of your life!
LikeLike
No I didn´t participate, but I have to say that is not like they forced on the girls, the girls lived seperately in another building and since they were few and us a lot, well it was quite common to have casual sex,and there was this one specific girl that had casual sex but with half or more of the platoon, not only while on base I should add. Plus she was terrible at her work, thank goodness she didn´t patrol with us. I´m sure she was great at other things, but as I said it all comes down to unit cohesion and she did brake it. We actually had two guy fight about her while deployed, and you expect them to be at their peek of their game while on a simple patrol? Nope.
So you surprised me, you´re a woman. All the better for you and being in a world that yes it is all manly. You do know what we talked while being in the middle of nowhere for months on end right? Women, and you might guess the conversations got a bit colorful to say the least.
About the joining up, quite a lot of the guys I know joined because they did have trouble with the law, nothing too bad and really nobody talked about it in too much detail and if they did they probably told half truths or less.
Anyways, God bless you. I haven´t put a foot on a Church since who know when, I should do it more often. Trying to better myself, wich I think I am doing better. And I do believe God still wants me around for some reason, I just need to find it. And I hope is finishing a novel.
LikeLike
Not for nothing, but I think that casual sex encounters are in any military installation all over the world. It’s no different from civilian life it military life. Remember I enlisted in the late 1980’s so people were a lot looset than nowadays. People will cry out foul if they think youret infringing on their rights.
I understand what you mean about unit cohesion. One mind, one might. But if you can’t do your job, best get another, it leave altogether. Yeah, thay ruins things as a whole; nobody need to be fighting over some girl when lives are at stake.
Yep, I’m a woman!! Cheers to me.🍷 I do know much of what the guys say about us in their colorful, flamboyant ways, indeed! I also have 3 brothers with various shades of respect for women, so I’m in the least bit naïve what topics of discussion men has behind the “wall if brotherhood”. LOL!!
And certainly lastly, maybe it would be good idea to go inside a church you feel comfortable in and say “hi God. Thanks for keeping me alive”. And tip right out. I’ve been going to church for 26 years, (same one) and honestly I believe its kept me grounded when I wanted to go off. I’ve been tempered and most people who knew my wild and crazy self can’t believe how subdued I’ve become. Mind you, it was grafualy and I’m still yet working on my urges not to punch annoying people or give them a hot taste of my mind. Lol! Whenever you feel is the right time, you’ll do it. For reals.
Thanks for the chat. You gotta come up with a post with the story of ‘stay frosty’ my friend.
LikeLike
What am I going to tell you that you don´t know.
By the way you said about “stay frosty”, this explains it
https://charlypriest.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/stay-frosty-the-strange-meaning-of-it/
LikeLike
We so appreciate the men and women who serve and keep our country free. Thank you all for your service and hopefully the country will do a better job of welcoming you home and taking care of any and all problems.
janet
LikeLike