Veterans Explain Which Things About The U.S. Military They Didn't Realize Until They Left

The saying, 'Can't see the forest for the trees' refers to a common inability to realize things about a situation a person is in while that person is in the thick of it. It's only after being removed from the situation does the person have the ability to realize where exactly they were and what was happening.

It's a similar idea to the saying 'hindsight is 20/20' which means reflection on past circumstances usually often more clarity than in the moment.

Reddit user TheBeardedAntt asked:

"United States veterans, what are things about the military you didn’t realize until you left?"

Benefits

"You’ll miss the clowns, but not the circus."

"Also, benefits are incredible."

~ Vegetable-Hold9182

Structure

"A lot of people don’t realize how much structure the military gives you until it’s gone."

"After leaving, you have to rebuild your own routine, your own standards, and your own sense of pace."

~ Vast_Wish_5113

Travel

"How much travel changes your view of the world. They certainly couldn’t keep me down on the farm after I’d seen Paris."

~ SkibidiBlender

"'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.' - Mark Twain"

~ BarristanSelfie

Friends

"You meet and make friends with people who you might not interact with before you join. Then together, you have some of the greatest times you’ll ever have in your life."

"And then one day it’s just over."

~ horseshoebucks

Memories

"The hard stuff is where all the good memories come from."

~ blazer243

"The times I laugh and reminisce about now were f*cking awful at the time."

~ jollygreenspartan

Self Care

"How much better I should have taken care of myself, and how I have to deal with it now instead. I skipped a lot of medical appointments to stay on mission."

"It’s much harder to get that time off on the outside, and at the end of the day, I was just a cog in the machine that has since been replaced."

~ Spiritual-Matters

Punctuality

"That punctuality was the norm. I’ve been out for about 30 years and still arrive 10-15 minutes early for every event."

"The place where I work now is run by retired vets. People who routinely arrive late don’t last long here."

~ Kershaws_Tasty_Ruben

Plain Talk

"The other big one is how much civilian workplaces avoid direct communication compared to what you get used to in the service."

~ Vast_Wish_5113

Pay

"Man, people don’t realize how good the pay and benefits are."

"Working a normal job is hard and pays nothing. Military training/details were easy."

"Deployments sucked, but overall the military was the easiest job I’ve had."

~ Alternative-Rope-721

"People on social media keep saying 'McDonald's pays better' while looking only at the 'base pay' salary."

"That is completely overlooking that McDonald's doesn’t put you up in an employee dormitory, doesn’t give you three (or even four) meals a day, doesn’t give you absolutely Norway-style-free medical and dental, etc..."

"And that’s not even getting into post-service veteran benefits."

~ TapTheForwardAssist

Healthcare Access

"How much healthcare access affects the rest of my country. As a veteran, I get access to social programs and a reasonable level of healthcare—all I have to do is show up and ask. This grants me a level of freedom most (American) civilians are unable to achieve/understand."

"If I hate my job, I find another one. It never crosses my mind to worry about getting sick. Seriously, this blows the minds of most American civilians."

"I went to an ER a year or two after leaving the Army. I could not believe that I had to take care of the billing information in triage (I was a medic). Healthcare in the US is slavery with extra steps."

~ Disastrous_Aid

AWOL

"I’ve been in a couple workplaces with chronic call-outs, no-shows, extreme tardiness, or quitting and never telling anyone they quit so the boss still gives them shifts for a solid month."

"Makes me very nostalgic for a job where you can literally go to jail for not coming to work."

~ TapTheForwardAssist

Small Things

"I didn’t realize until I was out the smaller changes that made a bigger impact."

"I show up early 5-10 minutes for everything. Everything has a place, I can find just about anything in the dark, and making a decision on the fly."

"I can make a decision and run with it, no need to second-guess."

"All small changes, but they make life easier."

~ Black3Series

Compartmentalized

"How much successful soldiers learn to compartmentalize everything. All the things I was raised as a child to believe were immoral and unforgivable? Yeah that can just be any Tuesday now."

"Did you see somebody die in a horribly cartoonish way? Go joke about it with your buddies and call your wife after to see how her day went. You just separate that part of your identity from the rest of you and suddenly it's not a problem."

"...until you get out and suddenly the walls of those compartmented sectors of your brain start to come down and the reality of who you are and what you've done comes crashing into who you thought you were."

"Easy fix, just talk to someone, right? Therapy helps, but it can be hard to find someone who 'speaks the same language' of those kinds of experiences. The isolation can be real."

~ MrWaffleHands

Outlook

"I served 5 years in the Army, and it completely changed me. I grew as a person and matured greatly. It really set me up for the rest of my life."

"I was a bit of a bum when I joined at the young age of 19, but at 25, when I was out, I was driven, and I could put my mind to anything."

"I don't miss the Army at all, but I am so glad I did it, more people should join, it really gives you a different outlook to life."

~ OzneBjj

Stepping Stone

"My 4-year enlistment helped me grow up, travel the world, and figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life."

"I didn't peak in the military. Not by a mile. I still have close friends I served with, and I have some good memories of unique experiences."

"Civilian life and freedom are way better. I don't have douchebags telling me how to do my job or taking credit for my work."

"The biggest realization I had after getting out was how much the military meant a lot more to some vets than it meant to me. I was so sick of my life being micro-managed; working under, with and over douchebags."

"I was so happy to get out and start my real life."

~ snuggletough

Military veterans, what revelations did you have after leaving the service?