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The Water Cooler
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Does Military Service make you less agreeable??
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<blockquote data-quote="mugsy" data-source="post: 1786755" data-attributes="member: 18914"><p>I retired from 24 years of active duty in the USAF, about 18 months ago, and I think I have made the adjustment pretty well. However, some things are hard to get used to. I miss the camaraderie that seemed to always be present, to one extent or another in my squadrons, and I miss the fact that everyone...ok...most of my peers, superiors, and subordinates actually cared about the mission and each other. I also miss the fact that what we were there to do was bigger than ourselves and bigger than a profit motive or even a personal goal (like selling the most widgets). You can find each of those things in other activities in life but rarely all together.</p><p></p><p>I don't mind civilian attitudes because they are usually based upon ignorance of or romantic notions of the military but sometimes they are based upon strong prejudices and that does bother me (war mongering, baby-killers, etc.) I did have trouble relating to some of my peers at a high school reunion. Most were financially very successful but they also seemed focused on, frankly, very petty concerns and focused on the most trivial of details which in their discussions were magnified into matters of great importance. OTOH - some had chosen paths in life that were at least as significant as anything I did - emergency room DRs, a couple of NYC firemen and cops, a number doing very significant medical research work, etc. </p><p></p><p>I do find that I am most comfortable discussing my previous career with either active duty military or fellow retirees but I also don't feel compelled to discuss my past career with everyone I meet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mugsy, post: 1786755, member: 18914"] I retired from 24 years of active duty in the USAF, about 18 months ago, and I think I have made the adjustment pretty well. However, some things are hard to get used to. I miss the camaraderie that seemed to always be present, to one extent or another in my squadrons, and I miss the fact that everyone...ok...most of my peers, superiors, and subordinates actually cared about the mission and each other. I also miss the fact that what we were there to do was bigger than ourselves and bigger than a profit motive or even a personal goal (like selling the most widgets). You can find each of those things in other activities in life but rarely all together. I don't mind civilian attitudes because they are usually based upon ignorance of or romantic notions of the military but sometimes they are based upon strong prejudices and that does bother me (war mongering, baby-killers, etc.) I did have trouble relating to some of my peers at a high school reunion. Most were financially very successful but they also seemed focused on, frankly, very petty concerns and focused on the most trivial of details which in their discussions were magnified into matters of great importance. OTOH - some had chosen paths in life that were at least as significant as anything I did - emergency room DRs, a couple of NYC firemen and cops, a number doing very significant medical research work, etc. I do find that I am most comfortable discussing my previous career with either active duty military or fellow retirees but I also don't feel compelled to discuss my past career with everyone I meet. [/QUOTE]
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