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Kitsune · 02-27-2004, 10:07 AM

The topic of discussion at the office yesterday: how the military messes you up. In discussing the military careers of friends, we noticed that not a single one of them had "come out clean". Nearly all of them had some form of social interaction issue/mental disturbance that we thought could probably be directly linked back to their time in the service.

One co-worker served in Solmolia and doesn't seem to have the ability to stand up for himself on the job. He continuously takes in as much work as he possibly can, so much so that it damages his family life. Why? He feels it is his duty to not say "no" when his boss asks him if he can do more. The result has been that his family life is rough and his stress is so high he's ended up in the ER a couple times. He openly admits that it is his nature to say "yes" to everything in response to a request from someone above him thanks to his military training and that, despite many attempts to break this habit, he can't.

Another woman I used to work with in my previous job served in Iraq in 1991. She became so distressed while serving that she elected to take an easy way out by getting pregnant. The result was a dishonerable discharge and a criminal record. While she was able to get back alive and faster than most, her family life and the care she has to provide to this child with no father left her miserable, not to mention the issues in finding a job with a dishonorable.

Perhaps the most worrying case of all is of a local friend who served in Vietnam. The demons in his head are so troubling, he explained, that the only place he feels comfortable living is away from everyone on a boat anchored off of shore. Each day he putters in via a dinghy and goes to work, but quickly returns to his isolated sailboat each evening where the outside world has no way to contact him. He won't really explain why in depth, but simply states that his living arrangements are equally as important for "the safety of others" as they are for him.

Is it that the military attracts people who already have issues or are prone to them, or does the military cause these issues for people? Even those that didn't see action just don't "quite seem right" for some reason. Outside of the mental impact of seeing action, are there consequences involved with simply going through the training?

I've not heard of anyone on The Cellar having a military background, but I would love to hear about it if anyone has experience.

02-27-2004, 10:07 AM	#1
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	Military Head The topic of discussion at the office yesterday: how the military messes you up. In discussing the military careers of friends, we noticed that not a single one of them had "come out clean". Nearly all of them had some form of social interaction issue/mental disturbance that we thought could probably be directly linked back to their time in the service. One co-worker served in Solmolia and doesn't seem to have the ability to stand up for himself on the job. He continuously takes in as much work as he possibly can, so much so that it damages his family life. Why? He feels it is his duty to not say "no" when his boss asks him if he can do more. The result has been that his family life is rough and his stress is so high he's ended up in the ER a couple times. He openly admits that it is his nature to say "yes" to everything in response to a request from someone above him thanks to his military training and that, despite many attempts to break this habit, he can't. Another woman I used to work with in my previous job served in Iraq in 1991. She became so distressed while serving that she elected to take an easy way out by getting pregnant. The result was a dishonerable discharge and a criminal record. While she was able to get back alive and faster than most, her family life and the care she has to provide to this child with no father left her miserable, not to mention the issues in finding a job with a dishonorable. Perhaps the most worrying case of all is of a local friend who served in Vietnam. The demons in his head are so troubling, he explained, that the only place he feels comfortable living is away from everyone on a boat anchored off of shore. Each day he putters in via a dinghy and goes to work, but quickly returns to his isolated sailboat each evening where the outside world has no way to contact him. He won't really explain why in depth, but simply states that his living arrangements are equally as important for "the safety of others" as they are for him. Is it that the military attracts people who already have issues or are prone to them, or does the military cause these issues for people? Even those that didn't see action just don't "quite seem right" for some reason. Outside of the mental impact of seeing action, are there consequences involved with simply going through the training? I've not heard of anyone on The Cellar having a military background, but I would love to hear about it if anyone has experience.