Self-Identity

For the majority of veterans, they struggle with self identification after the military.  The reason for this is quite simple.  For years they have had a lineal standing based on rank and time in the service.  They know who they report to and who they have command over.  It can be quite challenging as they get out of the service and can struggle for years with their idea of who they are and where they belong.  For some, this struggle can be too great so they end their own lives.  Its a sad truth and one in which I have seen from first hand experience.  Others choose to go back into the service because they miss the camaraderie and love they felt from other service members. Often, friends, family and partners will try to be there for them but they are unable to relate to the struggle.  For those of us that choose to continue into the 1st CivDiv, we must take a hard look at ourselves and find ourselves once again.  Military veterans can often times be the hardest on themselves because they do not look for the resources in the civilian society as they had in the military.  The resources are out there, even more now than ever before. I would say to my fellow veterans that you have the potential and strength to be an outstanding contributor to society if you so choose.  You also have the amazing ability to make yourself better than you have been before.  Over the last few years I did like most veterans, I threw myself into my jobs and other people without so much as looking at the care that I needed to take for myself.  Over the last few months, I have been challenged to find myself again.  To gain my sense of identity in who and what I am. I have find out some very interesting thoughts and principles that I never knew I had before.  I will not go into the litany of listing these or discussing them here but I would say that the biggest blessing that I have been given is that I can be the same person I was on active duty in the civilian side.  For years, I tried to hide the side of me that the Marines unearthed a few years ago and I have found that my military background has opened me to opportunities that I never expected.  So to my fellow brothers and sisters, please take the time to find who you are and what you believe in......you might surprise yourself.

-Oorah

Tyler