America the Distant

           Once you have become a soldier you are always fighting to survive. People forget that these men and women volunteer to put their lives on the line for the country. Some people may not agree with war, but it is happening. These civilians decided to step away from their families, friends and loved ones to enlist and fight for our country. When something happens to them or if they decided to get out of the military, where is their support?  When a civilian enlists into the military they are guided from start to finish. When a soldier gets out of the military they are alone, having to figure out how to become a civilian again.

When the soldiers come home, everyone always expects them to be the same people that they remember them being before they enlisted. Instead, the soldiers come home with problems mentally, physically and emotionally, not knowing how to become those people again. Yes, there is plenty of help for them, but there is no guidance. Civilians sign on with a military branch and they are guided from beginning to end. The soldiers are taught how to live, work, and function as a team with constant guidance from superior officers. The entire time they are in the military they are being trained to become soldiers. When the soldiers get out of the military they are still soldiers, trying to figure out how to become a civilian again on their own.

Going into the military these soldiers are grouped together as a unit. The soldiers then develop a relationship for each other that no civilian will ever have the luck of feeling. These soldiers especially the ones that go to battle eat, sleep, and fight together. Unfortunately they may even experience death together. The things that these soldiers have to see and do while at war can become a struggle, not only for them but for their loved ones as well. Theses soldiers as a unit have experienced pain and suffering, not to mention adrenaline, on a level that no civilian could ever imagine. While they are in the military they develop a form of dependency on one another. When they get out they lose that comfort of having someone being there that knows and understands what they have been through.

Everything that these soldiers have to do, they are told where, how, and when to take action. These soldiers have to forget their personal backgrounds to work with one another. It does not matter what their color, sex, or size is, because they must put their differences aside in order to survive. The soldiers have to become completely different people in order to deal with the death around them. Soldiers will watch their closest friends die in front of their face, and watch others die by their hands. Soldiers will come close to death just about every day, and yet they are expected to come home and start right where they left off. These soldiers should have just as much support when leaving the military as they did when they enlisted.

So many soldiers come home suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and many other illnesses. When the soldiers get out of the military, they are responsible to seek out help for themselves for these problems. Some of the soldiers realize that they have problems, but some do not. There are many programs and organizations out there for them including the VA Hospitals and other benefits; however it is their responsibility to find help. Upon discharge they have so many things that they have to take care of before they are able to leave the military. They have to get all of the need papers signed; they have to return all equipment. If the soldier lived on base they also have to have their bunk cleared. In this process, there should be a program developed to help these soldiers to go back to being civilians.

Civilians that have not been soldiers or known soldiers may not really understand how hard this is for a soldier to overcome. Many of our soldiers are just kids. As civilians they grew up with their parents always telling them what to do, and then they signed on with the military to have officers telling them what to do. After so many years of them being told what to do, they are expected to get out of the military and know what to do without direction.

The soldiers that decide to get out of the military are starting all over. The soldiers may not have the organizational skills, structure or direction needed, to make the first step in becoming a civilian. Some of the soldiers may be able to use what they learned while in the military as a job. Other soldiers may have to go back to school. These soldiers are starting a new path of their life with military-related medical issues. Most of these soldiers are afraid to even admit they have problems, afraid of how it will affect their chances with school, and work. The soldiers have to worry about how other people will perceive them, and what they expect from them. As a soldier they have to do a lot of things that civilians may not understand or comprehend.

When a soldier joins the military, they have to change their mindset. They have to change their concepts of right and wrong in order to survive and adapt. For instance, if they are in a line of fire against children, it’s either kill or be killed. These are the decisions that they are faced with on a day to day basis, as opposed to a civilian’s decision on what to eat or wear, etc. The hardships war brings to our soldiers, family, and friends are significantly overwhelming for all parties. It is not fair that these soldiers are expected to not change from who they once were and not receive proper help to reassemble their new lives as civilians.

When a soldier enlists, they become the property of the military. As a solider they have a routine that they abide by, and they have schedules that they have to follow. They are told what position, squad, and job they will remain in throughout the time they will serve. These soldiers, oddly enough, gave up their freedom in order for civilians to have their freedom. Then why shouldn’t these soldiers get that same treatment when they are finished with the military? The fact that they made it home alive from war multiple times is a feat in its self that most civilians will never understand.

Our soldiers from past, present, and future should not just have a day of recognition, they should have a month. These soldiers and their families deserve to be celebrated in life and in death. They should receive as much help as possible from all resources when departing from the military. They may not be of use in war any longer, but they are the civilians that will embrace the life they now have. These soldiers have experienced death on such a scale that they truly know what it means to fight for their lives. These soldiers are true hero’s that deserve a fighting chance becoming a civilian once again.