Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
My military accomplishments of which I am most proud and the memories I look back on the most from my time in uniform are the ones where things sucked.
It was sitting with a few buddies during the Florida phase of Ranger School while it seemed the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico was getting poured onto our heads and us laughing at the absurd state of affairs we found ourselves in.
There was that 10-mile ruck in IBOLC (Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course). It was not the longest movement we did, but everyone who did that agreed it was the hardest.
That one jump where we had a two-hour flight in full combat equipment, then the jump got scratched one minute from the drop zone because the first guy in the door passed out from heat exhaustion and they couldn’t get him moved out of the way.
If you are reading this, you likely have your own stories of times that SUCKED.
But you know, those times helped make me a better man.
Don’t take the Easy path
I will talk with veterans about their plans for after the military and many want to just take the “easy” path. They just want someone to give them a job or find one that is seriously un-demanding and coast for the rest of their lives (never mind you they are in their 20s still and that is still a lot of life to live).
We did some hard things in uniform and military service takes a toll on mental health, physical well-being, and families. It’s OK to want to re-focus efforts to get back to equilibrium on some of these dynamics and there is no need to place some of the demands from the military back on your life.
But avoiding struggle and tough work is not what makes for happiness and success. Instead, it causes malaise, victimhood, and unhappiness.
We all raised our right hands to defend our nation for a myriad of reasons. Adventure, service, a steady paycheck, and the prospect of free college all played their role in one way or another. But at some level, I truly believe that everyone who did it had something in them that wanted to do something more. Call it wanting to be a part of something bigger or a desire to avoid the normal path, we all had something in us that challenged us to do something bigger.
I’m asking you to hang on to that. Keep that fire alive. You joined the military not just because it looked like a great job, but because you wanted something bigger. When you leave, keep that desire in you to keep doing some tj big bigger.
This isn’t meant to tell you that you have to aim to be a top-notch professional after you leave the military, but it jt is here to encourage you not to sell yourself short. Don’t be OK with “settling” in anything.
The Story of Sid
I once had the great pleasure of meeting Sid Krachnow. Most people will have no idea who Sid is, and I think he would probably take joy in that.
Sid was born into a Jewish family in Lithuania and was a child when the Nazis started to round up Jews in his country. He and his brother eventually escaped a Nazi labor camp and Sid spent months hiding in a windowless closet to avoid detection. Their family eventually immigrated to the United States and Sid went to his first day of school at 17. He went on to marry his wife against all his family’s wishes (they were together for over 50+ years), joined the army, and went from Private to Major General, eventually leading all US Special Forces and commanding allied forces in Western Germany from the same office where the Nazis put forth their plan for the final solution.
The man had a heckuva life.
He was someone who had experienced great suffering and great struggle. I got to meet him in a small group and he told us something that sticks with me:
“Life is simple. It’s just hard.”
Real growth and development and joy in life come alongside struggle. It comes from putting forth the effort on relationships, careers, and family.
Don’t just seek the easy life after your time in uniform. Avoid the attraction to just “checking out” and doing what is easy. There’s no need to suffer, but it’s OK to have some struggles in your life still.
If you would like to learn more about Sid’s life, check out his book Hope and Honor. Your purchase on Amazon helps to continue making this site possible.
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