I want to be back in Iraq. I miss the war.

[olchevy]

"I want to be back in Iraq. I miss the war......I miss war..And I have a very hard time understanding why"


One of my friends at college, who served in the Marines doing multiple tours in Iraq as a Machine Gunner, seeing and doing stuff most people hopefully never will have to, said this today.

He really was confused and wondering how on earth he could miss something like that.

I am not military, not yet atleast. I have never been in combat, so I can not pretned to understand it the way he does. But the generall consensus from all of his Marine buddies (Most still over there as I type this), is that they feel the same.

I feel as though I understand how he feels that way, but I cant say for certian never having experienced it myself.

So for any of you that were in the military and in combat (the whole problem lies in the combat), do or did you feel something similar within yourself after you wen back to civilian life?

I am trying to find support for him, from those that have experienced the same things. If the thread goes as anticipated I will show it to him.

 

[jwhited]

The only thing I miss is all the extra money I was able to put away.

 

[Bypass]

I miss it sometimes as well. You are never more alive than when you are closest to death. War makes sense. Civilian life is truly a "Rat Race".

 

[Hayata]

“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” - Winston Churchill.

 

[Bypass]

“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” - Winston Churchill.

If we are doing quotes.

There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else....Ernest Hemmingway

 

[unclear.six]

If we are doing quotes.

There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else....Ernest Hemmingway

That comment was made in a negative tone. Hemmingway was staunchly anti-war. You contradict yourself with your own comment, and if you enjoy hunting men I can safely say you are at the very least disturbed.

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[Bypass]

That comment was made in a negative tone. Hemmingway was staunchly anti-war. You contradict yourself with your own comment, and if you enjoy hunting men I can safely say you are at the very least disturbed.

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LOL

 

[sparked1]

I'm not sure that brushing up with death is what he misses most (from what you described). It's probably the closeness of his unit. It's like a family with a clear purpose. To go from complete unity and a team mentality to coming home to find yourself all alone with no clear purpose can be polarizing. Add to that 11% unemployment and the political divisiveness, and I can see why he would miss it. It's actually not uncommon for soldiers to have trouble adjusting after returning from combat.

If I recall correctly, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was originally coined during Vietnam, when returning soldiers were diagnosed with many psychological symptoms. If his experience was especially traumatic, professional help may be a good idea.

 

[rOmiLaYu]

That comment was made in a negative tone. Hemmingway was staunchly anti-war. You contradict yourself with your own comment, and if you enjoy hunting men I can safely say you are at the very least disturbed.

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"Those who ‘abjure’ violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf."
-George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism

 

[NWGeorgiaSquatchman]

I have a buddy who was a Marine, and after a few tours and then coming home he told me the same thing. He said he hated civilian life and that he was never good at it. Said the military taught him a skill he was good at and that was killing. Asked me what I thought and I told him "to ignore what one is good at is ignorant at best...but that he was ****ed up" lol We laughed, finished our beers, and now he works for Academi (aka Xe services/Blackwater) so I guess he found his place in life! lol